


Harry Potter and the Garus Glitch

by NessieCullen9



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Hogwarts Era, Multi, Other, Teen Pregnancy, Time Travel, first fanfic, marauder era, repost, teen parenthood, written in 2005
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-08-01
Updated: 2005-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:14:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 24
Words: 84,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27705383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NessieCullen9/pseuds/NessieCullen9
Summary: I wrote this Potter fic in 2005, shortly after Half-Blood Prince was published. Not my best work (I was 16), but the first fanfic I ever wrote. This is an alternate 7th book. I guessed RAB’s identity and my bottomless bags idea came from Mary Poppins. Posted on FFN as of 2009.
Relationships: Arthur Weasley/Molly Weasley, Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Remus Lupin, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Regulus Black/Hermione Granger, Remus Lupin/Nymphadora Tonks
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	1. What He Would Have Wanted

"Oh, Geeny, I left my grandmuzzers earrings by ze bed! Could you get zem for me?" Fleur spoke distractedly, as she fussed with her veil, glaring at her reflection in the mirror. "And vere is 'Ermione?! Ze ceremony starts in thirty minutes!"

"She's with the boys, Fleur," Mrs. Weasley said, coming to help adjust the veil herself, "Ron said they needed her for something."

"So do I," Fleur said passionately, "she is my bridesmaed! Geeny, go find 'er vould you? And quickly!"

"We have to make this quick, Harry," Hermione said. "Ginny won't tolerate Fleur, alone, for long. Did you write the note?"

"Yeah, it's done," Harry said, handing her a roll of parchment tied with a scarlet ribbon. Hermione's hand shook slightly as she took it. Harry gave her a bracing look. "We have to do it, Hermione. We decided—"

"I know." Hermione whispered, "It's for the best."

"Make sure McGonagall reads it," Ron said gently. "And not a moment too soon, or it won't work."

"I know," Hermione repeated more firmly, tucking the parchment into a concealed pocket in the tulle skirt of the pale blue dress robes Fleur had chosen for her bridesmaids. Hermione gave the boys a solemn look. Hearing Ginny calling her name, she left to join her.

The ceremony was beautiful. The long hall was lined with chairs and feather-soft blue cushions. There were white roses, lilies, and bluebells everywhere. Hermione, Ginny, and the several other bridesmaids all wore the same floaty blue dress robes. Some of the men in the room actually fainted when Fleur entered. The gown she wore draped over her tall, willowy frame like silk, but it looked as light as air. Her pale blonde hair cascaded down to her hips, and her usually faint, silvery veela glow shone more brightly than ever.

Harry, Ron, Fred, George, and Charlie all stood beside Bill throughout the ceremony. Mrs. Weasley seemed to be barely holding herself together, her giddy smile framed by joyous tears falling down her face. Mr. Weasley was almost in tears as well. He radiated pride in his oldest son.

The reception was also stunning. Orbs of golden light floated freely around the room, lingering over the tables filled with Order members, students and staff from Hogwarts that were close to the Weasleys, and some of Fleur's family. The food was impeccable, courtesy of the house elves from Hogwarts that had been divided amongst the Order members upon the school's closing. A gesture Hermione was very appreciative of, knowing the Order would treat them kindly.

A popular wizard band called the Bludger Boys played a mix of odd songs for the various couples on the dance floor. Harry gladly noticed that Remus and Tonks spent more time dancing together than any other couple. Ron and Hermione got a couple of dances in, as did Neville and Luna. Harry and Ginny started one dance together, but stopped mid-song, too uncomfortable with their present, but non-existent relationship.

The toasts and speeches were very emotional, not a dry eye in sight when Bill pointed out in his speech that a seat at the ceremony and reception had been deliberately left empty for Dumbledore, in full belief that he would always be with them. Harry, Ron, and Hermione shifted uncomfortably at the resulting turn to Dumbledore in the conversations around them.

Harry found Ron's foot under the table and lightly kicked it with his own. Ron nodded subtly, and Harry saw Hermione nod when Ron's foot found hers as well. Hermione got up first, and she went to talk to McGonagall at the bar at the back of the room. Harry and Ron casually made their way to the exit. As they passed by Hermione, they heard a bit of her conversation with McGonagall.

"Well, Harry wrote this big toast for us to give together," Hermione said, "but after everyone started talking about Dumbledore…"

"Yes, we all understand how hard all of this has been on you three, Ms. Granger," McGonagall said kindly. "Potter, in particular, had been spending so much more time with Albus…"

"Professor, we would really like everyone to hear what we wanted to say," Hermione said, "but we just can't bring ourselves to speak right now. We were hoping you might read it for us while we step outside for a moment. Harry and Ron are on their way out now. I just came to give you the note. Would you please read it for us, Professor?"

"Yes, of course I will, Ms. Granger," McGonagall sniffed. "You just go with Potter and Weasley; I'll read it for you."

"Thank you, Professor," Hermione said. She handed McGonagall the parchment bound with the scarlet ribbon and headed towards the doors Harry and Ron had just passed through. No sooner was she through the doors when tears sprung from her eyes, falling down her cheeks. Ron took her hand and whispered to her soothingly as the three of them walked quietly down the hall.

McGonagall contemplated the parchment in her hands for a moment before making her way to the head of the room, untying the scarlet ribbon as she went. When she reached the front of the room, she tapped a wine goblet with her wand so it rang with a full, resonant chime. Everyone quieted and gazed in her direction.

"Forgive me," she spoke clearly, "but it seems Harry, Ron, and Hermione have one more note to contribute. They asked that I read it for them." There was a rustle as guests shifted in their seats to give McGonagall their undivided attention. Ginny looked around for the trio of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. She wasn't sure why, but something suddenly felt very wrong to her. Remus, sitting at a neighboring table, seemed to sense a problem too.

McGonagall unrolled the parchment, and began to read: "I'm sorry, but this is not a happy toast to the couple…" McGonagall paused as though the words had left a bitter taste in her mouth. Her audience exchanged glances. "The prophecy about me and Voldemort that was smashed in the Department of Mysteries was still known by Professor Dumbledore. That night, after the incident in the Ministry, he told me the full prophecy, and asked that I only tell it to Ron and Hermione. Keeping to that promise, I'm afraid I can't tell you all the contents of the prophecy, now. I can tell you, though, that the prophecy is truly irrelevant to the task as hand…"

Someone whispered, "Then why was You-Know-Who so keen on it?" McGonagall continued reading.

"My meetings with Dumbledore only began as Occlumency lessons. We actually uncovered a great secret of Voldemort's. Before his death, Dumbledore asked the three of us to carry out this mission in secret. All that I can comfortably tell you is that Voldemort, for now, is as good as immortal."

There was a collective gasp and a couple quiet screams at this revelation, even in its delicate context. McGonagall was very pale as she proceeded to read. "If we can't finish what we started with Dumbledore, there'll be no stopping him. The hardest part is, to keep all of you as safe as possible, the three of us must leave you and press on alone."

"WHAT?!"

The word was echoed by many voices. McGonagall's eyes widened as she continued to read in a higher octave. "We're sorry to do this, but by the time you read this, we'll already be gone."

"NO!" That was Ginny's scream, as she bolted for the doors, sending her chair flying. Remus was on her heels, looking horribly sick. The room stood uncomfortably still, as if petrified. Ginny and Remus' shouts rang from the hall where they were desperately searching for Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but no answer ever came. When they reentered the room, Ginny was sobbing, and Remus was frighteningly pale, his own eyes glistening and his body shaking. McGonagall looked down at the note and realized there was more to read. She struggled to speak clearly.

"We'll write to you when we've settled into a safe place to stay. We'll still need your help with some things. Though we'll lay low for the most part, we do plan on giving Voldemort and the Death Eaters a small hint at our separation from you, and its cause. That should take the majority of their focus off of you and keep them focused on us, as is our hope. Understand, we feel horrible leaving you right after what happened to Dumbledore, but if this war is ever going to end, and if Voldemort is to be stopped once and for all, it has to be done. It's what Dumbledore would have wanted…"

It was as if someone else had died. Most were silent, some were crying. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were doubled over on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. Mr. Weasley was holding his wife tightly. Remus was stroking Ginny's hair while big, round tears glided down his own deathly white face. McGonagall was staring at the note in her hand, splashed with some of her own tears, willing the writing on it to disappear and for this to be a horrible dream, but she didn't wake.

Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger… Three students she was proud to call her own—and from her house! She bit her lower lip to quell its trembling as she wondered to herself if she would ever see them again.


	2. The Lion’s Den

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting on the floor of a less hazardous part of the Knight Bus, ducked below any windows they might be spotted through. They each held a medium-sized shoulder bag they bought from Fred and George's store. They were called bottomless bags, because no matter how much you put in them, they never got full or heavy, and when you reached in for a specific item you placed inside, it would always be the first thing you touched. Before the wedding ceremony, the three Gryffindors had filled their bags with clothes, potions, spellbooks, and anything else necessary to live in their new hideout together, including some food they'd swiped from the stocks of food for the reception.

None of the trio had been able to change out of their dress robes in their rush to leave, but each had used various spells to modify their attire to look simple and practical, thankful that the closing of Hogwarts meant all its students could legally use magic outside of school, no matter what their age. Harry and Ron wore comfortable trousers and shirts with shortened sleeves. Hermione's blue tulle skirt was trimmed to knee-length, and the top of the dress was free of the beading it bore previously. Once they were on the bus, Hermione had also pulled a white sweater from her bag, to cover her bare shoulders, removing any jewelry.

They got off the bus in a small village about two miles from Azkaban prison, where prison inspectors and off-duty human guards frequently stayed. It was around 2am by the time they entered the village, but Harry still pulled his invisibility cloak out of his bag and threw it over himself. Any Azkaban guards spotting Harry Potter walking the streets so close to the prison would cause a scene.

"That's the tunnel to Azkaban," Hermione whispered to the boys as they walked, pointing to a large wooden door on the ground between two old houses that appeared to be nothing more than an old underground storage facility.

"A tunnel goes straight between here and Azkaban?!" Harry whispered, astounded. That couldn't be safe. Wouldn't it be too convenient for escapees?

"It's no ordinary tunnel," Hermione responded, moving close enough to Harry that his invisibility cloak brushed her legs as they walked. "It's more like a version of the maze you went through in the Triwizard Tournament that goes underground and underwater. I read about it in Prian Court's _Book of Big Security Measures_. Only inspectors, guards, and a couple aurors know the way through."

Harry's silent nod was unseen by his friends, as was his long, thoughtful stare at the doors as they continued walking through the village. The first houses they passed looked decent, but the farther they walked along the weaving main road, the worse for wear the houses looked. Eventually, they reached a fork in the road. The lower road seemed to exit the village. The upper road seemed to dead end at the base of a steep, rocky hill. The three teens headed toward the rocks.

Three dilapidated houses lined the base of the steepest face of the hill, framing the road's end. One looked as though it had once caught fire. Another of the houses was completely missing a part of its roof. The third house seemed to have a little stability left to it. One window on the second floor was shattered, and the steps up to the door were broken, but the trio stepped over them to enter the house.

The interior of the house looked better than the outside. Cobwebs blanketed the walls, but they seemed sturdy and acceptably insulated. The stained and worn carpet still held its shape well enough. The staircase to the second floor was solid, though it creaked, and all the windows but the one upstairs were sound. The house included a small living room and a smaller kitchen with a fridge, stove, and sink, but no cabinets. There was one bathroom with the sink, toilet, and bath all chipped and rusted. There was one bedroom upstairs with a large, broken bed frame, and the floor was covered with downy stuffing that had fallen out of the torn mattress. There were piles of wood pieces and fabric strips everywhere.

"It'll need work," Harry said, folding up his invisibility cloak and tucking it into his bag, "but it'll do."

"Well, no one would think to look for us here anyway," Ron said, eyeing the web-covered walls warily. He blinked when they dissolved away, and turned to see Hermione already had her wand out and working. "Thanks," he said a little abashedly. Hermione smiled at him before using a quick repairing charm on the broken window. Harry took his cue from her.

"We should be able to finish repairs by this afternoon," he said. "I'll start in the bedroom. Ron, you and Hermione start work downstairs. I'll catch up with you down there." Hermione and Ron nodded their understanding and went back downstairs. About five hours later, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were seated in the living room on a couch they'd created by dramatically enlarging a rolled up pair of socks. Together they had transfigured the wood piles into cabinets, filling them with the food from the reception. They'd repaired and scoured the bathroom, fixed the bed, and bombarded the floors with cleaning spells that failed to take away the musty smell. The lights still needed tending to, but the sunlight through the windows was enough for the tired witch and wizards for the time being.

* * *

The long, hooded cloaks the two men wore had camouflaged them in the dark. They saw the red-headed boy and the curly-haired girl passing them, whispering to their invisible third companion. One of them shifted slightly when they paused outside the tunnel to Azkaban, reaching a long-fingered hand into his robes to grip is wand. As the young travelers continued walking, the two men slipped out onto the street and tacitly followed them to a fork in the road where they ducked behind a rock pile to avoid being seen. Once their quarry entered a house at the end of the upper road, they sped into the neighboring scorched house and waited inside.

* * *

Hermione awoke when Ron moved beneath her. She had fallen asleep with her head on his chest, his arm around her. Ron woke with her movement. They both sat up, staring absently at all the parchment and pictures pinned on the wall in front of them until Harry spoke from behind them.

"Our mission map," he said, walking up to the wall and pinning what they recognized as R.A.B.'s note on the wall next to a picture of the fake Slytherin locket the note was found in. "Things are only going to get more complicated now. We have to keep track."

"Great thinking, Harry," Hermione said, getting up to examine his work more carefully. Ron moved closer too.

"Lists of Horcruxes, Death Eaters..." Ron mumbled, casually slipping his arms around Hermione again and resting his chin on the top of her head. "This should be fun." Ron felt a quiet, bitter laugh shake Hermione's frame in response. Harry, too, released a grim laugh.

"We can do it," he said firmly. "We have to."

"Speaking of obligations," Hermione sighed, leaning farther back into Ron's body, "we promised in that note that we'd write back to the others once we found a place to stay."

"Yeah, we should do that now," Harry said, pulling parchment and a quill from his bottomless bag. "I saw some owls flying around the village. We can flag one of them down to deliver it."

"Where?" Ron asked. Hermione looked between the boys worriedly. Harry stared at Ron for a minute before thinking of an answer.

"The Burrow," he said. "McGonagall would be too obvious to interceptors, and Remus would be impossible to contact during the full moon." Hermione and Ron murmured their agreement. Harry started scrawling out a short letter, but stopped before he finished. "What do we call this place?" he asked. Ron and Hermione exchanged glances.

* * *

The two cloaked men stood outside the house, peering at the teens through a window that was slightly clouded by the cool, moist evening air outside. The one who had reached for his wand previously was squinting his dark eyes at the parchment and picture covered wall, taking mental notes. The other man's lighter eyes refused to leave the young friends, huddled over the letter they were writing. His light eyes twinkled with pride as they scrolled over the tall red-head, following his arm until it disappeared into the thick brown curls of the young woman who was talking excitedly with the dark-haired boy writing the letter. The man's eyes rested on the latter the longest.

"Let's get one of those owls over here," the dark-eyed man said, his voice a breath above a whisper. The two men hurried down the road to the fork, where a few owls perched in a sickly tree. The light-eyed man stroked the feathers of a gray one, making clicking noised with his tongue. He whispered to the owl and it took off, up towards the rocky hill where he saw a flash of light shoot from a wand to flag it down. A moment later, the owl was airborne again. It disappeared into the oncoming night, as did the two cloaked men.

* * *

"WAKE UP!" Ginny Weasley shouted, running through her home like her fiery red hair was burning her. "EVERYONE UP! THEY WROTE BACK! HARRY, RON, AND HERMIONE!"

Witches and wizards sped out of bedrooms in their pajamas. Some guests from the wedding had stayed the night at the Weasley's, so the kitchen was packed by the time everyone got downstairs. Molly and Arthur Weasley, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Fred, George, Remus, Tonks, Neville, and Luna all surrounded Ginny. She shook violently as she read the letter aloud the tense group.

"We're safe. Don't worry. We found a place to stay, and we're starting to plan our next moves. We'll keep you posted. Send this owl or other inconspicuous owls to 'The Lion's Den'. They'll find us. Just don't write too often. We can't risk catching too much attention. Be safe, everyone. We love and miss you all." The letter was signed: Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Harry's Patronus: Prongs.


	3. The Goblet

"Bloody Hell, we're in trouble now," Ron said, dropping his head into his hands. While Harry and Hermione heated up breakfast, he had gone to the village newsstand under the invisibility cloak and picked up copies of The Quibbler, The Daily Prophet, and Witch Weekly. The Quibbler reported nothing of value besides reprints of previous interviews with Harry. Both the Prophet and Witch Weekly, however, were plastered with the same cover story.

_The Golden Gryffindor Trio Goes it Alone?_

_Days ago, the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Bill and Fleur Weasley ended in shock and tears. The band hired for the event, the Bludger Brothers, was witness to it all._

" _The ceremony was all good and well, but those three kids dropped a bomb on dinner," Riley Bronson, the Bludgers' lead singer told our reporters. "They gave Prof. McGonagall a note to read to everyone—the Order of the Phoenix and some kids and teachers from Hogwarts. Told them in the letter that the three of them were running off to do something about You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters, only they used You-Know-Who's name! Said it was something Dumbledore told them to do before he died! Everyone was screaming and crying, but too late. Potter and his friends were gone!"_

_No one seems to know what the late Albus Dumbledore may have asked of his three favorite students, but it seems Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger are determined to carry out his wishes…_

The article continued on across multiple pages in both periodicals, reviewing all the details known to the public of Harry, Ron, and Hermione's previous 'adventures' since their first year at Hogwarts which, unfortunately, thanks to other students interviewed, was a lot.

Hermione was muttering a little incoherently. Ron's face had sunken deeper into his hands. Harry's urge to blow something up was about to get the better of him when an owl flew through the open window and landed with a less-than-graceful thud in front of Ron, holding its burdened leg out to him rather insistently. Ron detached the letter and read it aloud to his friends.

"We're so sorry! We didn't make those Bludgers give us anything more than their promise of discrepancy when we hired them, in case they heard anything of consequence mentioned. Needless to say, we weren't expecting your note. Apparently, reporters were offering them everything but their first-born children for a story. As you've undoubtedly noticed, they took the offers. Bronson probably would've spilled even more had Tonks not morphed to look like one of the reporters and wiped his memory of the night.

"You said you wanted to catch a little enemy attention to disperse their forces, but this can't be what you had in mind. We'll try to stomp out what we can. I won't try to convince you to come back, but just be careful. Love, Remus. Former resident of the Shrieking Shack."

"Now what do we do?" Hermione asked exasperatedly.

"We press on as planned," Harry answered quickly and firmly. "There's no turning back now." Hermione and Ron nodded.

* * *

Voldemort threw the Prophet down on the table, furious. The Death Eaters seated around the table were on pins and needles. "What was Dumbledore up to with them?!" Voldemort raged. "How did we not know about this?!"

"I told you all I could, my Lord," Snape spoke softly. "Dumbledore told no one what was discussed between him and Potter during their meetings at school. I and a few Order members were told he was helping Potter with Occlumency."

"And Potter told no one?" Voldemort seethed, causing the group around him to shiver as one. Snape remained calm.

"Only those two," he answered, gesturing to the picture of Harry, Ron, and Hermione that embellished the Prophet's front page, his words dripping with abhorrence. Voldemort glared from Snape to the picture of the three laughing Gryffindors. He picked up a nearby letter opener and stabbed the picture with it, making the three teens in it scatter outside the frame.

"Where would they go?" He asked the group. "Where would they be hiding?" Bellatrix coughed.

"My Lord, our fellows in Azkaban would likely know more about them," she whispered. She hesitated before adding, "Particularly Lucius, now my sister's dead." Draco squirmed in the chair beside his aunt. Voldemort glared at them both.

* * *

"Hufflepuff's goblet," Harry said, "should be the next Horcrux."

"So, where do we look?" Ron asked. "Godric's Hollow?"

"For starters," Harry said. "Then, we'll see."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione waited for the night shift guards to leave for Azkaban before setting out from their hideout. Hermione waved down the Knight Bus and they jumped on quickly. When the bus came to its typical, jolting stop, on a curb in the village of Godric's Hollow, they gripped the wands in their pockets and stepped out cautiously. After twenty minutes of wandering the Hollow, Hermione was about to ask Harry if he actually knew where they were going, then she collided with him. He'd abruptly stopped and he was staring at the house in front of them with a strange expression on his face. Hermione gasped.

The house from so many of Harry's nightmares was boarded up. The gate was broken, and it seemed the air around the house was distinctively colder than it was in the rest of the Hollow. Without saying a word, Harry walked through the gate and toward the door. Hermione and Ron followed close behind. When they reached the door, Harry glanced back at the street behind them before aiming is wand at the door.

"Reducto," he said softly, though the sound of the door blasting inward was plenty loud on its own.

"Harry!" Hermione squealed, looking around frantically. Harry had already stepped over the rubble, and he was looking around the inside of the house. Hermione and Ron bolted inside. They watched nervously as Harry proceeded directly up the stairs inside, as though in a trance. They followed him cautiously until he stopped in the doorway of a large bedroom.

"I can hear them," Harry whispered after a long pause, his voice distant and ominous. "Like when the dementors are around. I can hear my dad fighting Voldemort. I can hear my mum screaming." He walked forward and laid a hand on the bed in the room, very gently, as though afraid it might attack him. "I was lying on this bed… when it happened…" Hermione whimpered and Harry snapped out of his trance. He turned around to face her. She was crying. Ron was holding her hand, but seemed to be frozen by the tense chill in the room.

"Harry, I'm so sorry," Hermione whispered. She stared at him for a moment, with no response, before striding forward and hugging him tightly. Harry hugged her back, lightly at first, but soon he was clinging to her with all his strength. The feelings that rushed through him attacked him at his core, threatening to tear him apart. Hermione was all that was holding him together. He didn't notice she was slowly backing up, pulling him out of the room with her. As soon as they were out in the hallway, Ron pulled the door shut. Harry felt his sane mind slowly taking hold again and he relaxed his hold on Hermione until they were completely separated.

"Harry, are you okay?" Ron asked, looking paler than usual. "You looked possessed in there. Like something was about to turn you inside-out."

"Ron!" Hermione protested his graphic speech. When she looked apologetically at Harry, though, he was staring at the door. Hermione reached for his shoulder.

"I saw Hufflepuff's goblet," he said. Hermione's hand froze, short of contact.

"W-What?" Ron stammered, dumbfounded.

"I saw all the things the dementors make me see, but then I saw the goblet," Harry said.

"Harry," Hermione said imploringly, "the only thing in that room was—"

"The bed," Harry said, his mind reeling. "That's when I saw it. When I touched the bed, I saw a man that looked like Voldemort. I saw the graveyard where the Triwizard cup took me and Cedric. I saw an old house being torn down, and then I saw the cleared lot the house was on, and I saw the goblet."

"Tom Riddle's house was torn down after he was murdered," Hermione offered. Harry's eyes locked on hers sharply. She blinked. "That would explain the man, the graveyard, and the house," she added.

"Wait," Ron said. "You don't think Voldemort buried the goblet where his father's house used to be, do you?" Harry was still staring intensely at Hermione, though he answered Ron.

"That has to be it," he said. "Hermione, do you know where Riddle's old house was?" Hermione nodded.

The trio stepped off the Knight Bus, onto a large stretch of grassy land. It was daylight, and warmer now. The three of them had shortened their trousers and sleeves on the bus. Hermione pointed to a particularly overgrown area a few yards away. Once the bus was out of sight, they drew their wands and treaded carefully towards the spread of land. Once they got there, they stood still, waiting for something to happen. Nothing happened.

Harry looked at his friends bracingly before saying, "Accio goblet." A quaffle sized mound of dirt burst upward, below Ron's feet. Hermione jerked Ron away from the small hole as if it had tried to bite him. "The goblet must be deeper down in that spot," Harry said before something did bite him, or rather, it stung him.

Harry yelped and jumped to the side. A strange creature that looked like a cross between a small dragon and a large scorpion was crawling out of the ground beside him, another one soon following. The land was cursed with an Oppugno Charm.

"Serpions!" Hermione screamed. More of the strange creatures had burrowed up behind her and Ron, stinging her legs. Stripes of blood trickled down her legs, staining her white socks. Ron blasted several of the serpions away with a Stunner, even as one stung him in the side, over his hip. Hermione shot it off him with an Impediment Curse. "Harry, dig!" She screamed, "Get the goblet!"

Harry kicked out hard at the creatures charging at him and showered the small hole with Summoning Charms, more dirt flying up each time, along with more serpions. He could feel the little monsters biting at his legs. He could hear the cries of pain his friends were interchanging with spells to ward off their attackers. He was about to abandon his digging to attack the mass surrounding them when he heard the unbelievable.

"Avada Kedavra!" Harry turned in time to see the jet of green light issue from Hermione's wand and engulf half a dozen serpions that sprawled out, dead across the ground. Ron gaped at Hermione until a wave of serpions rushed at her, peppering her legs, back, and sides with stinger sores. Ron blasted them away from her with an Impediment Curse before redirecting his aim, farther away from her, and shouting the Killing Curse himself. His curse didn't take out as many as hers had, but it killed a few of them.

Harry felt something erupt within him. He faced the hole and screamed out one more, "ACCIO!" Hufflepuff's goblet exploded out of the ground, landing at his feet. He left it on the ground, turning his wand on the remaining fanged lizards. "AVADA KEDAVRA!" He yelled, blasting even more foes away than Hermione had.

It wasn't long before the trio had killed all the hybrid creatures, and they sat among the bodies, conjuring bandages around their wounds. Harry reached towards the pile of loose dirt and picked up Hufflepuff's goblet, examining the Hufflepuff crest on the face of one of its jewels. The goblet, at least, was real.


	4. The Glove

"Harry, why do you think you were able to see the goblet when we were in that room?" Hermione asked, referencing the strange episode in Godric's Hollow.

"No idea," Harry answered honestly, then he winced. He, Ron, and Hermione were sitting safely back in the Lion's Den, applying healing balm that stung as it cleaned their wounds and sealed them. Harry had just reached a particularly nasty bite. Hermione and Ron had taken the worst damage. Harry's stomach turned as he remembered their cries of pain as he dug up Hufflepuff's Goblet, which now sat on the small table in the living room. He glared at the gleaming, bejeweled cup, blaming the object for the pain he and his friends suffered for it.

"I had just been hearing and seeing parts of those dreams again, of the night when my parents died, and next thing I knew I was seeing those images of the house and the goblet," Harry said with a shrug.

"You said in fourth year that your parents had appeared and guarded you from Voldemort, when your wands connected," Ron offered.

"Priori Incantatem," Hermione added. "Do you think it might've been something like that, Harry? Did you get the sense of someone telling you where the goblet was?"

"Maybe," Harry said, his brow furrowed as he tried to recall the odd event. "I can't really remember." Hermione seemed to want to remain focused on the subject beyond that, but Ron's attention moved to the goblet.

"So what do we do with it?" He asked himself as much as the other two, "How do we destroy it?"

"Carefully," Hermione answered darkly. "Unless we want our hands to look like Dumbledore's did, after he destroyed the ring." The three friends let a silence pass between them as they thought of Dumbledore. Their three pairs of eyes stung with tears that never fell. Soon, the silence was broken, and they started listing possible spells and curses to use on the goblet. Eventually, Hermione thought of a fitting potion.

"It's similar to the Aging Potion Fred and George tried in fourth year," she said, carrying a particularly thick potions book over to the table and flipping through its pages until she reached a picture of a wizard pouring a thick, silvery liquid into a vat of fresh wine and serving it to his friends. "The difference is it doesn't work on anything living. It will age metal to a brittle rust, quickly age wine, turn new furniture into antique furniture—"

"And decompose a goblet made of sealed wood and jewels?" Harry asked. Hermione nodded and touched a paragraph in the middle of the page.

"A variation meant specifically for sealed wood," she pointed out. "It says here it takes about twenty-four hours to essentially disintegrate the wood, like common rot. As for the jewels, we can immerse them in a mineral dissolving solution if necessary. Destroying the wooden body of the goblet should be enough."

Hermione spent the rest of that day brewing the potion in a small cauldron on the kitchen stove, while Harry and Ron turned their attention to the next Horcruxes. "We know his snake, Nagini, is one," Harry said, studying their mission wall. "She should be saved for last, though. She'll probably be the most difficult one to reach, being Voldemort's pet. It'll also leave no mystery left to him about what we're doing. He still doesn't know anyone knows about the Horcruxes. We should keep it that way as long as possible."

"The other one is something of Gryffindor's or Ravenclaw's?" Ron asked to confirm. Harry nodded.

"Most likely Ravenclaw's," Harry said. "We know Gryffindor's sword is safe. Dumbledore guarded it before, and now I have it." Ron raised a messy red eyebrow. Harry gestured to his bottomless bag. He got up and pulled out the old sorting hat that Fawkes had brought to him in the Chamber of Secrets, reached inside, he slowly drew out Godric Gryffindor's sword. "No one else knew the importance of guarding it," Harry explained. "I took the hat from Dumbledore's office before the school closed, so I could draw the sword through it." He handed the sword to Ron, who was gaping at it in awe. Hermione, too, left her cauldron to come see it herself. She ran her finger lightly across the inscription of Gryffindor's name and her eyes widened.

"Harry, I have to get back to the potion," she said, "but pull _Hogwarts:_ _A History_ out of my bag. I think I know what the Horcrux is!" Harry didn't need telling twice. As Hermione went back to her potion, he tackled her bag in his eagerness to find the answer, leaving Ron to further examine the sword. He pulled the book in question out of Hermione's bag and laughed when he saw the wear on its pages and binding.

"Hermione, how many times have you read this?"He asked incredulously.

"A few," Hermione quipped.

"A few hundred?" Ron mouthed to Harry, making him laugh again. Hermione didn't seem to notice.

"Chapter fifteen," she told Harry, and both boys bit back more laughter at her detailed familiarity with the book. Harry opened the book to the chapter she indicated: _Pieces of Hogwarts History: Items that Immortalized the Founders._ Harry scanned the contents of the chapter hungrily. The chapter described Gryffindor's sword, Hufflepuff's goblet, Slytherin's locket, and…

"Ravenclaw's glove," Harry read aloud, "often referred to as her spell _bending_ glove for its enchanted capacity to manipulate pre-existing bewitchments, and its ability to alter active spells, even as they first issue from a given wand." It happened again. Harry's body tensed and the world around him blurred. He could hear a familiar voice in his head, telling him it was right. The glove was the Horcrux. He blinked when he realized Ron's hands were on his arms, shaking him lightly.

"It happened again?" Hermione asked anxiously as Ron released Harry and stepped back from him.

"Yeah," Harry answered, more shakily than intended. "There was definitely a voice this time. The voice told me the glove is the Horcrux, but I didn't see anything this time."

There was a violent rattling noise. Hermione jumped and sped back to the potion that was rapidly boiling and giving off a silvery light. Harry followed her into the kitchen, carrying _Hogwarts: A History_ under his arm. Ron followed him, carrying Gryffindor's sword. "It's ready," she said, drawing her wand. "Accio goblet." Hufflepuff's goblet soared off the table and landed lightly in the sink beside Hermione. She lifted the cauldron carefully and poured the potion inside the goblet. She immediately used a Cleansing Charm on the cauldron and put a Shield Charm on the surfaces near the goblet so the potion could harm nothing else. Only then did she turn back to Harry, looking a little harassed.

"I read in an update of that book that Ravenclaw's glove disappeared twice," she said.

"Twice?" Ron prodded.

"Once, during the time when Voldemort was a seventh-year at Hogwarts," she said. "Probably when he took it and made it a Horcrux. A group of aurors found it and returned it to Hogwarts. A few years after Voldemort graduated, it was stolen again. That time, they knew the culprit. It was Canis Black. He was Sirius' great uncle, and a Squib."

"A Squib?" Ron asked, "But why would a Squib—"

"To keep up with his family," Harry answered Ron's unfinished question. "As prejudiced as most of the Black family is, and was then, he would want to use the glove to have the power he was born without. Then he would be able to keep up with his family's standards." Hermione nodded.

"He was caught, but he never gave up the location of the glove," she said. "He killed one wizard that came close to finding and taking it, and he was sent to Azkaban. He was there until he died, rather suddenly, in his late sixties. The glove was never found, but it was reported that strange things happened while he was in Azkaban. The dementors didn't seem to affect him, inspectors would come to find the bars of his cell bent and twisted…" Hermione trailed off as realization hit her, Harry, and Ron like an angry hippogriff.

"He took the glove with him into Azkaban," Harry said what they were all thinking. Ron stared out the window next to them, down the road, in the direction of the wooden door they had seen in the ground between two houses. The underground labyrinth that led to Azkaban prison. Harry remembered the maze from the Triwizard Tournament with a shudder. He dreaded the thought of reliving it, this time with Ron and Hermione beside him.

The trio timed their movements carefully. They left the Lion's Den shortly before the night guards left for their shift. They waited by the door to the tunnel for more guards to come, invisible under Disillusionment Charms that Hermione had cast on them. They were risking being caught, but they wanted to attempt to follow the guards through the maze, to avoid getting lost or running into any unnecessary danger.

Soon, five tall men and one shorter woman, all dressed in what looked like charcoal gray quidditch robes approached. Harry, Ron, and Hermione edged out of the way, careful not to disturb anything on the ground that a trained eye might notice, staying as close to the door as they could. The guards scanned the area before opening the wooden door and filing inside. The trio jumped in behind the guards, before they could close the door on them, and Hermione's hand flew up to her mouth to prevent her gasp of shock.

Entire stone walls were disappearing and reappearing in different places, in random order. What would've appeared to be normal stone tiles rose and fell in clusters, and ghosts—no—faceless, bodiless souls swam like patches of fog through the air. Harry's stomach plummeted sickeningly when he realized they had to be the souls of prisoners that the dementors had sucked out during their time as Azkaban's guards.

Harry realized the guards they had followed in were moving forward into the maze and gently pressed his fingers into Hermione's back to move her forward. She was still frozen, stunned by the spectacle before them. The three moved forward as fast as they could while keeping their steps as quiet as possible. While they recognized how dangerous the journey through the maze could be, taken alone and not knowing the correct route, they were relieved to be passing through without incident, behind the guards. They took mental notes of their path so they could find their way back through with as much ease.

About an hour after they entered the tunnel, they turned down one last metal tunnel that hummed with the sound of the water moving outside of it. At the end of that tunnel was another rock wall with a thick iron door. The guards pushed it open, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione leapt out behind them into a blast of cold, salty ocean air. They stood still for a tense moment, staring at the tall prison tower, as they waited for the guards to turn and walk away from them and proceed toward a smaller building to the right, where they would meet the leaving team of guards for a status report.

Harry waited until the guards were out of sight to dispel the Disillusionment Charms on himself and his friends, and they ran as fast as they could toward Azkaban, before the new guards could follow them. They plunged through the main doors and through the temporarily vacant reception room, into the stairwell that went up through the several floors of cellblocks. Hermione had remembered reading that Canis Black had been kept on the topmost floor, so they climbed up the stairwell quickly. They stepped through the doors at the top of the stairs and halted abruptly.

The eleven Death Eaters that had been caught attacking them, Neville, Ginny, and Luna, in the Department of Mysteries were staring at them through the bars of their cells. At first the Death Eaters gaped at them in equal surprise, then their faces contorted with rage. Eleven wizards crashed into the bars of their cells, shouting a resounding blur of insults and threats at the three teenagers they blamed above all else for their imprisonment.

At the first lull in the noise, Hermione strode forward and thrust her fist through the bars, punching Dolohov in the face. Dolohov and his cellmate, Jugson, growled in anger and launched themselves at Hermione, their arms twisting through the bars, trying to reach her. Harry and Ron rushed to Hermione's side, but she only took a single step back, unmoved by their attempts. She drew her wand and aimed it at Dolohov.

"A fist in the face is the least I owe you," she said coldly. "You can save yourself from worse by pointing us to Canis Black's old cell." Dolohov stared at her with a calculating expression on his face. Jugson tried to grab one of the three teens again, but Harry caught his wrist and twisted it around hard. Jugson wrenched his arm from Harry's grip and pulled it back inside the cell, where it remained. Hermione stepped forward again, keeping her wand at the level of Dolohov's chest, and Harry picked up the cue to play along.

"You'd better answer her, Dolohov," he said. "She's not one to hold back."

"Used her first Avada Kedavra yesterday with brilliant results," Ron pushed further. Dolohov and all the other Death Eaters laughed.

BANG!

Dolohov collided hard with the back wall of his and Jugson's cell, crashing through the flimsy bunk beds and shattering them. There was a long, shallow cut across his chest and a smaller one across his pockmarked nose. Hermione moved disinterestedly to the next cell over and glared at its occupants: Macnair and Rodolphus Lestrange. She aimed her wand at Rodolphus. "Which cell was Canis Black's?" She repeated.

Rodolphus glanced over at Dolohov before he turned his cold stare back on Hermione. "Why do you care anyway, Mudblood?" He growled at her, barely restraining himself from making a grab at her, knowing that would only provoke her two companions into sharing in her uncharacteristic recklessness. Looking around, Harry and Ron could tell some of the Death Eaters found it impressive, not that they would ever admit it. Hermione exchanged a glance with Harry.

"Just something we need of his so we can kill Voldemort."

The Death Eaters roared their disapproval, but amid the noise, Harry, Ron, and Hermione watched their eyes. Several of them briefly glanced over at an empty cell between the cells that housed Malfoy and Rabastan, and Nott and Rookwood. Ron laughed and ran into the cell, followed by Harry and Hermione.

They weren't looking long when Harry decided the flat pillow on one of the beds in the cell didn't look quite like the others and muttered, "Finite Incantatem," waving his wand at it. The pillow contracted. It shifted and writhed on the bed, as though alive, before it seized up and dissolved into a dark blue, elbow-length glove with brown leather straps around the wrist and a single, perfectly cut blue diamond positioned to sit on the back of the hand. The Death Eaters in surrounding cells all craned their necks to get a better look.

"Ravenclaw's spell bending glove," Harry said, picking it up and touching the Ravenclaw crest in the palm of the glove. Hermione and Ron smiled at him briefly, before an explosion sounded outside.

Ron rushed to one of the cell block's barred windows to locate the disturbance. He stiffened as another deafening boom erupted from below. "We've got trouble," he said tensely. Harry and Hermione went over to him to look out the window themselves. Harry's knuckles turned white as he gripped Ravenclaw's glove tightly.

Amid the flashes of all-too-familiar bright green light could be seen Azkaban guards being struck dead by a small army of masked, armed Death Eaters.

"They must be breaking the others out," Ron groaned. "Just our luck to have come here now." Harry stared out at the scene for another moment, not noticing Hermione's response to Ron's assessment. _This couldn't be happening. Not here. Not now._ Harry's daze was broken by Ron and Hermione pulling him away from the window. Hermione was still speaking urgently.

"... Should stay away from the window. If they saw us, it wouldn't take much to aim a curse through the window from below."

"There's no way to get out the same way we came," Ron said. "They're too close. We'd never make it. Harry?" Harry blinked at being addressed directly, still feeling affected by the surrealism of their situation. The feeling faded quickly. He had to focus. He, Ron, and Hermione had not come this far to be killed in an Azkaban breakout.

"That main entrance is the only way out," he said, willing any sound of fear or desperation in his voice to silence with relative success. "But there has to be a way we can slip around them while they're busy with the breakout." There was a boom of harsh laughter around them, reminding them that the very Death Eaters this breakout was meant to help were listening to their conversation.

"That easy is it?" One of them taunted.

"They don't know we're here," Hermione said loudly to Harry and Ron, ignoring their tormenters. "If we can at least make it to one of the lower cell blocks with no prisoners, they should pass right by us."

"While they're smashing cell bars, we can make a break for the tunnel," Ron added. Harry nodded.

"That's our best chance," he said.

"Then you've no chance," Lucius Malfoy hissed from behind Ron. "Six of you against twelve of us in the Department of Mysteries was one thing, Potter. You only survived by running until the Order came for you. Are you expecting their help again?"

"No," Hermione snapped. "So when you fail to stop us this time, no excuse will save you." Malfoy glowered at her, but before he could retort, there was another thunderous crash from below that shook the entire tower.

"They're inside," Harry said. "We've got to get to a different cellblock! RUN!" Hermione and Ron didn't even wait for a breath. They took off toward the stairs. Harry stuffed Ravenclaw's glove in his pocket and sped after them. As they ran, they could hear the voices of the Death Eaters. The ones below were shouting spells and curses that were followed by screams. The ones of the captive Death Eaters above were shouting warnings to their fellows of the trio's presence, so they could intercept them.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione descended past two floors, ducking inside the third cell block they reached. They waited in silence, barely daring to breathe. They gripped their wands tightly in their hands, should they be seen and have to fight. They held their breath completely when Bellatrix Lestrange's voice came from just outside the cellblock door.

"That guard can't get any more dead, Amycus! Hurry up! Alecto, Greyback, let's go! Draco!" Harry, Ron, and Hermione tensed as Draco Malfoy's voice answered Bellatrix.

"I'm right here, Aunt Bellatrix," Draco huffed as he ascended from the battle below. "Travers' Imperius Curse missed a guard and hit Yaxley. We had to stop him from strangling himself."

"Enough excuses, Draco," Bellatrix scolded. "Get upstairs to your father!" Draco and the other Death Eaters continued up the stairs, as the trio hoped they would, without looking in the empty cellblock where they hid.

As soon as Bellatrix rounded the corner of the next flight of stairs, the trio crept out of the cellblock and ran down the stairs as quickly and quietly as possible. They sidled through the rubble and bodies at the bottom of the tower and dashed outside, toward the tunnel. Ravenclaw's glove fell from Harry's pocket, yards from the tunnel entrance, and Harry wheeled around to go back for it. He grabbed the glove just as he heard a man shout, "Stupefy!" Harry jumped to the side and rolled away from the rocks that burst into pieces as the jet of red light smashed them. He looked up to see Greyback leaning out of the window Ron and Hermione had pulled him away from.

Greyback aimed another spell at Harry, but Ron and Hermione were faster. Two spells shot in Greyback's direction, causing the window frame around him to explode in a burst of rocks and splinters. Harry hoisted himself up and ran for the tunnel, just as three masked Death Eaters hurtled out of Azkaban's destroyed entrance. More spells shot after him, all of them deflected by Ron and Hermione. When Harry reached them, they all dove inside the tunnel, throwing the heavy door shut behind them and sealing it with a, "Colloportus!"

The trio froze as they faced the rest of the tunnel. They had an idea of how to get back through, but not with so many enemies on their tail. They admitted to themselves that Lucius Malfoy was right. They would never make it. They jumped as one when a loud crash sounded from just behind the iron door. Harry unconsciously gripped Ravenclaw's glove tighter, looking down at it. The glove was too small for his arm, but it might fit…

"Hermione! Put this glove on, quick!" Harry said, grabbing her right hand and helping her pull it on and fasten the strap. "We have to use the glove to control the tunnel!"

"What?!" Hermione said fearfully, "How?"

"I don't know," Harry said, "just think of it as an Imperius Curse! Think of what you want the tunnel to do! Tell the magic in the tunnel to stop and let us through!"

Hermione continued to stare at him wide-eyed, but stuttered, "A-Alright." Hermione closed her eyes tightly, trying to will her thoughts into the glove. Another crash that dented the door behind them broke her focus. Harry turned to Ron.

"Cast a Patronus against the door and hold it as long as you can!" Ron nodded and aimed his wand at the door.

"Expecto Patronum!" He yelled, and a shield of white light splashed across the door and held it shut.

"Hermione," Harry said, turning back to her, "focus! Tell the tunnel to open a straight path through for us!" Hermione's eyes snapped shut again and she faced the maze. Her brow furrowed in concentration, then she raised her gloved hand, grasping her wand tightly and aiming it at the maze. Harry shot a glance back at Ron to see his Patronus weakening. "C'mon, Hermione, you can do this!" He shouted. The diamond on the glove glistened and the glove radiated a blue glow that surrounded Hermione, then the aura contracted and shot from the tip of her wand in a glistening stream.

Hermione's eyes popped open. She and Harry watched in amazement as the shifting walls and floating souls that filled the maze parted, away from the blue light, clearing a straight and surprisingly short path to wooden door on the other side. The string of blue light clung to the glove Hermione still wore and seemed to move with her.

"Ron!" Harry shouted, "One more blast, then let it go!" Ron nodded, and a final surge of energy left his wand, pounding the iron door tightly shut. "Now, run!" Harry yelled. Ron sprinted down the open path. Harry grabbed Hermione's free hand and pulled her forward. As they ran, the string of blue light fed back into Ravenclaw's glove, allowing the area behind them to assume its original state.

They weren't running long when a boom that shook the ground enough to unbalance them signaled the Death Eaters' entrance through the no longer barricaded iron door behind them. The Death Eaters would have to struggle through the maze though, and Ron, Harry, and Hermione were already halfway to the other side. Still, they ran harder, mustering all the strength and energy they had to propel themselves forward. The last of the string of light streamed into the glove as they reached the wooden door. Ron pushed it open. Harry and Hermione leapt out behind him.

Hermione tore off Ravenclaw's glove as she, Harry, and Ron ran toward their hideout at the back of the village. Once there, they threw all their belongings into their bottomless bags, including the notes and pictures pinned to the wall. Harry retrieved the glove from Hermione and stored it in his own bag. With their cloaks and bags slung around their shoulders, they left the house they knew was no longer safe for them. The Azkaban guards that populated the village were dead. The Death Eaters would destroy the entire village searching for the three young Gryffindors. They had to run away again.

As they ran down the road, out of the village, they could hear more crashes and blasts in a chorus behind them. When they had run for a while and saw no shelter in sight, they grabbed each other's hands and Disapparated to the last place they would expect their hunters to search for them: Knockturn Alley.


	5. The Snake’s Immortal Too

Mrs. Weasley was in hysterics when the Order gathered together on Halloween. Various Order members had tried to send letters to Harry, Ron, and Hermione at the Lion's Den over the past few days, but each owl came back with the letters still attached to their legs, having not found the intended recipients. The most recent owl did bring something additional: A sign that was partially burned, with a large crack down its center. The aurors in the group recognized it as the sign that hung over a small pub in the village outside Azkaban.

"The tower and the village were destroyed!" Mrs. Weasley sobbed, "All the Death Eaters broken out! All the guards dead! It was in the Prophet! They must've found them!"

"Just because they found them doesn't mean they caught them," Remus tried to sound calm, but had little success. "All the dead left there were identified—"

"WHAT IF THEY WEREN'T LEFT THERE?!" Mrs. Weasley screamed, "WHAT IF THEY TOOK THEM BACK TO _HIM_?!"

"We'd know it," McGonagall said firmly, shaking her head. "If Voldemort killed them, he'd want us to know. He would make sure everyone knew." Mrs. Weasley stared at her through the geysers of water that were her eyes and nodded slightly before burying her tear-stained face in her hands. McGonagall stared from Mrs. Weasley to Remus, to an also crying Ginny Weasley and several other downcast faces while attempting to reassure herself that her own words were true. She tried desperately to convince herself that her three prized students had somehow survived.

* * *

"You saw them _,_ " Voldemort seethed. "You _all_ saw them, but I don't see them now! Crucio!" He aimed his wand at a random, masked Death Eater, and they collapsed to the ground in pain. The curse was lifted and the Death Eater forced himself back up as though nothing had happened, murmuring his apologies along with the rest of the group. Voldemort sat down in a large armchair at the head of the otherwise empty room. "What happened?" He whispered icily.

Dolohov removed his mask and stepped forward. A trace of the cut Hermione gave him across his nose was still visible. Voldemort raised a thin eyebrow. "Potter, Granger, and Weasley, came running into the cellblock our cellblock. The Mudblood, Granger, took a swing at me through the bars and she asked where Canis Black's old cell was. Weasley said something about her having used a Killing Curse before, and when I didn't answer Granger, she gave me this." Dolohov pointed to the cut on his nose and shifted his cloak around to reveal part of the long cut across his chest.

"Then she asked me," Rodolphus continued, also coming forward and removing his mask. "They figured it out without my saying, though. They found a glove that had been transfigured into a pillow inside the cell. They said they needed it…" Rodolphus shuddered slightly as he finished, "to kill you, my Lord." Rodolphus and Dolohov stumbled backwards when Voldemort stood abruptly, white-hot fire in his red eyes.

"Did the glove have Ravenclaw's crest on it?" He demanded.

"Yes, my Lord," Lucius Malfoy spoke up.

"What else did they say?" Voldemort demanded, his eyes boring into Malfoy's. Using Legilimency, he found his answer in Lucius Malfoy's off-guard mind. He scanned Malfoy's memory from the moment the trio took the glove to the moment the Death Eaters burst out of the wooden door at the end of the tunnel and found the three Gryffindors were nowhere in sight.

"You couldn't find them anywhere in the village?" Voldemort inquired somewhat distractedly.

"No, my Lord," Bellatrix answered. "We turned the village upside-down and found no trace of them except—"

" _Except_?!" Voldemort rounded on her. "Except what?!"

"In one of the old houses by the cliff," Bellatrix said shakily. "We're not even sure the jewels belong to them, but…" Bellatrix drew from her pocket the jewels that once, unknown to her, adorned Hufflepuff's goblet. "We found them in the sink of the most livable house, sitting in a pool of some kind of potion."

Voldemort strode forward and seized the jewels from Bellatrix. He rolled them around in his long-fingered hands until he saw what he was looking for: Hufflepuff's crest, stained onto the face of one of the jewels. The Death Eaters had moved in closer to see the jewels and they all stared from the Hufflepuff crest to their master, holding their breath. They scattered when Voldemort suddenly whipped around, scanning the room with his eyes. "Where's Nagini?" He spoke in a tone that bordered on panicked. The Death Eaters stirred.

"When we went to Azkaban, my Lord, you ordered Snape to take her to the underground hideout outside Knockturn Alley, in case we had to abandon this one." Draco spoke, his voice cracking slightly.

"Where is Snape now?"

"Here, my Lord," Snape said from behind Draco. Voldemort visibly tensed and several Death Eaters flinched, expecting pain. They had never seen him so unglued, not even around Dumbledore.

"Snape, Bellatrix, Lucius, Draco, you come with me to retrieve Nagini!" Voldemort ordered. "The rest of you stay here and kill anything that moves that isn't marked!" Voldemort led the small squad he'd chosen out the back door and they Disapparated to the underground hideout.

Once there, Voldemort sped inside without a word. Snape, Bellatrix, and the two Malfoys followed while exchanging uneasy glances. When they were all inside, they saw Voldemort kneeling beside Nagini. The snake appeared to have been stabbed between the eyes, but she was somehow alive. Voldemort, still silent, traced his wand across the gash, sealing the wound. "They didn't destroy all the others yet…" He finally whispered, more to himself than the four standing around him. "Nagini wouldn't have survived… There's at least one left…"

"One left of what, my Lord?" Snape inquired cautiously. Voldemort turned to face them.

* * *

"That was way too close," Ron breathed. He, Hermione, and Harry were crouched amongst the roots of an enormous tree, right outside the Death Eaters' underground hideout. They'd just made it out of one door into the hideout when Voldemort had come sweeping in through the other. Hiding amongst the roots, unable to move, they were just barely able to hear Voldemort's conversation with Snape, Bellatrix, and the Malfoys.

Voldemort confessed to them the story of the Horcruxes he'd made so many years ago. When he heard about the glove and the jewels, he concluded Dumbledore must have known and instructed his three students to destroy the remaining Horcruxes. What he said next shocked the three Gryffindors: Nagini couldn't be killed unless all the other Horcruxes were destroyed first. Moments after they heard him say that, he reemerged from the hideout, carrying Nagini, and he and the Death Eaters Disapparated.

"But we did destroy all the other Horcruxes," Hermione said as she, Harry, and Ron climbed out of the tree roots. "We burned the glove last night. That was the last one before Nagini."

"The diary, the ring, the locket, the goblet, the glove, Nagini, and Voldemort…" Harry murmured the list of Horcruxes Dumbledore had described to him. "What did we do wrong?" Hermione and Ron shook their heads.

"Let's get back to our room, in case they come back," Ron said. Harry nodded.

The night they had escaped the attack around Azkaban, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had covered themselves in long, hooded cloaks, and checked into a small inn at the outer end of Knockturn Alley, under the names Neal, Landen, and Claire. The morning after they arrived, they had been looking for owls when Harry heard Nagini calling for her 'master' and his 'masked pets'.

The three Gryffindors kept their heads down as they reentered the alley. As dodgy as Knockturn Alley always was, it was at its worst that day, on Halloween, when some of the locals would deliberately release untreated werewolves into the raging party in the streets, among other dangerous magical creatures.

The trio pulled the hoods of their cloaks up over their heads as they entered the inn and proceeded up to their room. The room was small, with two twin beds, a small table with one chair, a cramped bathroom, and a mini fridge, all crammed so close together that there was less than an arms length of space between any two pieces of furniture. The only food they had left was some bread, mixed nuts, and a half-gallon of milk Ron had stolen from a store in neighboring Diagon Alley, under Harry's invisibility cloak. They knew they would have to find a way to get more food soon, and water. That was becoming increasingly hard to do as everyone in the magical world had read the interview with the Bludger Brothers and knew they were on the run. They shared some of the milk and mixed nuts as they tried to think of where their plan had failed.

"The only possible answer is that one of the Horcruxes wasn't _properly_ destroyed," Hermione said.

"But which one?" Ron asked.

"I saw the part of Voldemort's soul that was in the diary die," Harry said. "And the ring took most of Dumbledore's hand with it."

"The glove burned completely," Ron said. "And Voldemort said the goblet was destroyed, even though he had the jewels off it."

"That only leaves the locket," Hermione finished the train of thought. "But R.A.B. destroyed it." Harry stared at her.

"No," he said, getting up off one of the beds and taking R.A.B.'s note from his bottomless bag. "They said they _would_ destroy it. We don't know what actually happened. I mean, if they got the locket by themselves, they would've drunk that potion that nearly killed Dumbledore. What if they died before they finished the job?"

"Then where would the locket be?" Hermione asked.

"Probably wherever they were last seen," Harry answered. "Not knowing who they are, we'll be hard pressed to find the last person who saw them."

"Well, we have to try," Hermione said. "We don't exactly have a choice in the matter. Especially now that Voldemort knows what we're doing. If he finds the real locket before we do, we'll never be able to destroy it."


	6. R.A.B.

"I've seen them here twice now" the dark-eyed cloaked man said to his companion. "Entering the inn over there, and later hiding in the trees."

"From what, I wonder," the light-eyed cloaked man laughed. The dark-eyed man glared at him.

"They're sure to get themselves killed the way they're going," he said testily. "They can't possibly have much food left, they need a safer hideout, and now that he knows what they're doing—"

"They'll be in more danger than ever," the light-eyed man finished his companion's terse speech. "But they'll handle this added danger as they've handled all the other dangers they've faced. Just a push in the right direction, and they'll get past this." The dark-eyed man said nothing. Instead, he drew his wand and aimed it at a lone owl flying overhead.

"Imperio!"

* * *

Harry dreamt of being back at the Dursleys'. Hedwig was screeching and pecking the window by her cage, asking to be let outside, while Uncle Vernon was shouting from downstairs to make her keep quiet. He walked over and stroked her feathers, apologizing for her unfair confinement. She turned away from the window and closed her beak, but the screeching and pecking noises still continued…

Harry blinked and rolled over in his bed. He saw Ron and Hermione in the next bed, also opening their tired eyes to find the source of the noise. Harry heard the noise again and looked up to the small window above Ron and Hermione's bed. There was an owl in the window, trying to get in.

Ron rolled over and opened the window. The bird flew in and landed in Hermione's lap. She stared from it to the two boys on either side of her, an eyebrow raised into her tangled mess of hair. "I guess we can write to the others now," Ron said, rubbing his eyes. "And let's ask them to send food."

* * *

"ARTHUR! GINNY! THEY'RE _ALIVE_!" Mrs. Weasley screamed as she opened the envelope on which she recognized her youngest son's handwriting. "THEY SENT ANOTHER LETTER!" Mr. Weasley and Ginny ran into the kitchen where Mrs. Weasley had abandoned a pot of soup, though it was boiling over. She nearly dropped the letter through her trembling fingers as she read it aloud.

"Sorry we haven't written in a while. We had to move to a new hideout when we were spotted by Death Eaters. We'll probably change hideouts again soon, and we'll try to write again then. Don't get too worried, but could you please send food? We took money with us, but since everyone is looking for us, we can't really do much shopping. Send it to Neal, Landen, and Claire at 'the Hideout by the Hideout'. Love, Ron, Hermione, and Harry. Ron's favorite quidditch team: Chudley Cannons."

As Mrs. Weasley finished reading the letter, she looked up to see Ginny already pulling food from their cabinets and fridge, piling everything on the table, seemingly not noticing or caring how little food she was leaving for herself and her parents.

"Ginny, there's a limit to what we can send," Mr. Weasley said, grabbing her shoulder as she was proceeding past him to another cabinet. "We have to be discreet, remember? The package can't be too big, and we shouldn't use more than two owls to carry it. We can send more when they change their hideout."

" _Spotted_ by Death Eaters," Mrs. Weasley reread the delicately phrased part of the letter. " _Spotted_?! That village was destroyed! Where are they hiding now to have to leave so quickly?! Where are they going next?! _Arthur, I want them BACK_!" Mrs. Weasley let out a loud sob and hugged her husband tightly. Ginny joined in the hug.

"Mum? Dad?" Ginny whispered. "Did you know Harry and I were dating for a while at school, last term?" Ginny's parent's gaped at her.

"Ginny," Mrs. Weasley sniffed, "we saw you two dancing at the wedding, and Fred, George, and Ron seemed to know something, but…"

"Dating?" Mr. Weasley asked. Ginny nodded.

"We broke up at Dumbledore's funeral because he wanted to protect me," Ginny whispered while slow, round tears fell down her face. "But…"

"Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley gasped, grabbing her daughter again and holding her close, knowing what Ginny was trying to confess. In spite of her own tears choking her, and her mother's arms restricting breath, Ginny finally said it.

"I love him…"

* * *

"Food's here!" Ron called to Harry and Hermione as he removed the larger burden two owls bore through the window of their room. Each owl also carried a separate letter, both letters addressed to the three of them. As Ron and Hermione unloaded the care package, Harry opened the letter that was attached to it and read it aloud to his friends.

"This should tide you over until you move again. As for the 'spotting' at the Lion's Den, we know they found you in the village outside Azkaban. What were you doing there? We thought you were dead, like all those guards! Ron, Harry, Hermione, please be careful. I wish you'd tell us what you're doing. We're all worried sick about you! Especially now that all the Death Eaters are free. Now that they've seen the article and seen you, they'll never rest until they find you again. Please write back soon. We all love you. Love, Molly Weasley. House elf: Dobby."

"Bloody Hell, they shouldn't have found out we were there," Ron said. "They find out too much, they'll just get themselves in more trouble. What?" He was looking at Hermione. She had opened the other letter and was staring at it wide-eyed. She handed it to him with a trembling hand. Harry moved closer to read the letter with Ron. It was unsigned.

_Look for R.A.B. in Kreacher's cache in Grimmauld Place._

* * *

The two cloaked men stood in an alley close to Grimmauld Place. They backed further into the shadows by the walls when three more cloaked, hooded figures tapped their wands against the space between the two buildings that exposed the secret door. "You see," the light-eyed man said, "they did follow the tip."

" _Proving their recklessness,_ " the dark-eyed man snapped. "Following a tip written to them anonymously when, to their knowledge, no one else knows about the decoy Horcrux."

"Exactly," the light-eyed man said with a smile. "No one they'd expect to harm or help them knows, so they have no reason to trust, nor distrust the clue. It does take some daring to gamble with neutral territory, but with no other leads, they have to test their odds."

"Why not just have me conveniently mention his name when they could overhear me?" The dark-eyed man prodded.

"Because that wouldn't be enough for her to understand."

* * *

As the trio entered Grimmauld Place, their breath caught in their chests. Tears fought to fall from Harry's eyes, but he refused to let them pass. Though this house belonged to him, he hadn't returned to it since Sirius died. For a long time, he had to force himself to not even think of this place, to avoid thinking of Sirius. It hurt too much. Hermione sniffed behind him and he turned to face her, but he didn't see her or Ron there. He saw a large, dusty box in a small room, and them an old book: _Magical Milestones_ by Nicolas Flamel, with a piece of parchment sticking out of it at an odd angle. He blinked and Hermione and Ron came back into view, both looking a little scared.

"It happened again, didn't it?" Ron asked, "Did you hear the voice again?"

"No," Harry said, shaking his head and focusing on what he'd just seen. "I saw a box with a book by Nicolas Flamel in it. It was in a small room. It must be something Kreacher stored away."

"Harry, whatever is causing these episodes is scary," Hermione said nervously. "The last time you heard voices, it was the basilisk, and the last time you were seeing strange things, it was Voldemort using Legilimency."

"I know," Harry said. "But it's all we've got to go on now. Besides, when it had to do with Voldemort, my scar hurt. This doesn't hurt me. The opposite… It feels safe." Hermione frowned at him, but dropped the subject.

"Let's see if we can get Kreacher's stash open," she said. "Nobody in the Order could do it before, but there has to be a way." The three of them proceeded quietly past Mrs. Blacks screaming portrait and made their way to the door that had always been locked. Ron tugged at the doorknob without making the door budge.

"Ravenclaw's glove would be useful now," he said.

"There has to be a way," Hermione said again, staring at the door through narrowed eyes. Harry gave the door a similar look.

"Sirius left this place and everything in it to me," he said. "I should be able to use that." He stared at the door for another minute before saying, "Kreacher, come here!"

Pop!

The wicked-looking elf appeared at his rightful master's feet. When the Death Eaters broke into Hogwarts, he'd escaped. They assumed he chose to seek out either Bellatrix Lestrange or Narcissa Malfoy, members of the Black family that he favored, but he belonged to Harry. The Death Eaters knew Harry and his friends were after the Horcruxes, so calling Kreacher was a risk, but Kreacher couldn't reveal anything his rightful master forbade him to speak of. Kreacher would never be able to tell the Death Eaters anything Harry, Ron, or Hermione said.

"Kreacher, open this door," Harry commanded. Kreacher's eyes widened.

"Why does the Potter boy want Kreacher to open the door?" Kreacher sputtered, "Why is he calling Kreacher now? Why are the Potter and Weasley boys and the Mudblood here again?"

"Don't call her Mudblood!" Harry and Ron shouted.

"Mistress Bellatrix talks about you around Kreacher," the house elf hissed. "Why do you call Kreacher?"

"Sirius left you to _me_ , Kreacher. I'm your master, not Bellatrix," Harry said coldly. "She killed Sirius. Sirius gave you to me _._ " Kreacher just stared at him. After a pause, his face shifted. His ears perked up higher, and he put on what he seemed to think was a hurt, friendly face, before turning to Hermione.

"You hear how he speaks to Kreacher, Miss?" He said, his normally ragged little voice like oil. "You hated when people spoke to Kreacher like that. You protected Kreacher _._ " Hermione glared at him.

"Your master gave you an order, Kreacher," she said icily.

"Wretched Mudblood!" Kreacher spat, his kind mask shattering. "You've no right to enter this house! You've no right to speak to a _servant_ of such a noble family! You—"

"KREACHER, OPEN THIS DOOR!" Harry shouted, making Kreacher stumble backwards onto the ground. "And if you insult Hermione one more time, I'll lock you inside when we're done and I'll make you stay there!" Kreacher gaped at him. The house elf got up, grumbling, and laid a sharp-nailed hand on the door. There was a crackling noise and a loud pop, then Kreacher lowered his hand. Harry grabbed the doorknob and turned it and the door opened.

Kreacher looked sick as Harry pulled the door wide open and entered the small room with Ron and Hermione entering close behind him. "Why do they go in there?" Kreacher muttered in his strained voice that he still didn't seem to think nobody could hear. "What property of my mistress and her noble family do they mean to take? Thieving blood traitors, they are. And to say Kreacher belongs to them—"

"Kreacher, go wait in the master bedroom," Harry ordered. Kreacher turned and proceeded upstairs, still muttering his outrage. "I think the box I saw had a big rip in one of the top flaps," Harry said to Ron and Hermione as they sifted through Kreacher's cluttered storage room.

"This one has a tear like that," Ron said, moving a pile of what looked like photo albums off the top of a large, dusty box. Hermione dragged nearby items out of the way, clearing space around the box.

"This is it," Harry confirmed, stepping up close to the box. He carefully opened the top flaps and found it to be stuffed full of old, used school supplies and books. Harry, Ron, and Hermione started sorting through the old books. As they did, Hermione reverted to her previous train of thought.

"The last time we took books that we knew weren't ours, they ended up belonging to Voldemort and Snape, both filled with dark magic," she said.

"But this book was written by Nicolas Flamel," Harry said. "He was a friend of Dumbledore's. Why would a dark wizard take enough interest in that kind of book to bewitch it?"

"Or invent dark spells in it," Ron added. Hermione was silent.

"I guess we're about to find out," Harry said, picking up a book with a dark purple cover: _Magical Milestones_ by Nicolas Flamel _._ Just as he'd seen, there was a piece of parchment sticking out of it.

"It looks like a note," Hermione said, as Harry pulled it out.

"It's a list of notes," Harry said. "Probably passed between two people in class or something." Ron and Hermione came around to either side of Harry so they could all read the series of notes that had been written in two different styles of handwriting. One of the styles looked strangely familiar.

_You're sure the note with the locket said R.A.B.?_

_I showed you the note. You saw it yourself._

_I know, I just can't believe we're going to do this._

_We already did, so we have to now._

_Do any of the still living ones know?_

_They shouldn't. The Glitch is described clearly in Flamel's book._

_No one should remember until you go back._

_Yes, won't that be a shock to them all? The mysterious R.A.B. destroyed the locket Horcrux with a muggleborn witch, born after he died, when they were the same age and attending the same classes in their seventh year at Hogwarts._

_R.A.B. and Hermione Granger. I wish I could see their faces._

Harry nearly dropped the note. He, Ron, and Hermione all looked like they'd bern doused with ice water. "Hermione…" Harry said, stunned. "The person that helped R.A.B. was _you._ " Hermione seemed paralyzed by shock. Ron was staring at her like she was covered in spiders. Harry looked from the note to the book. He opened the book's cover to look for a name.

 _Property of Regulus Aries Black_.


	7. The Garus Glitch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haname Garus (hah-nah-may GAIR-us)

"Me and Regulus Black?" Hermione whispered. She sat on one of the old couches in the manor, still in a stunned daze. "In the same classes? Writing notes to each other? How could that be?"

"Sirius told me Regulus was a Death Eater," Harry said. "He said the Death Eaters killed him when he wanted to quit."

"That was ages ago," Ron said, shaking his head. "How could he know Hermione? He couldn't've even known her family, 'cause she's muggleborn."

"And if he knew her, you'd think the others that were in school then would remember her," Harry said. "Dumbledore? McGonagall? Sirius? Remus? Snape? _Several_ Death Eaters? Why don't they remember her being with Regulus?"

Hermione picked up the book they'd found the notes between her and Regulus inside and opened it to the table of contents. "In the notes, I mentioned a 'Glitch' in Flamel's book," she said. "This must be the book that I meant."

"The 'still living ones'?" Harry quoted from the notes, "When you 'get back'? He knows about the note we found with the fake Horcrux before he's written it."

"Sounds like something that might've happened in third year, when Hermione was using the time-turner," Ron said. "Could it have to do with time travel?"

"All the time-turners were destroyed in the fight in the Department of Mysteries," Hermione said distractedly, thumbing through the pages of the _Magical Milestones_ book. "And besides, the time-turners couldn't go that far back in time. They worked by the hour, and they didn't bring you back forward to the time you started in. You had to live the same hours twice."

"There were other time-related experiments in that department," Harry offered.

"Here!" Hermione said, pointing at a page she'd just turned to. "The Garus Glitch. It says here that a witch named Haname Garus, when researching time travel beyond the capacity of time-turners, found a way to transport herself as far as _forty years_ back in time and, after remaining in the past for as long as five months, she could return to the time she traveled from. Upon returning to her present time, the memories of everyone she made contact with in the past simultaneously changed to include her."

"So she changed the past from what it was supposed to be and altered everyone's true past memories?" Harry asked.

"No," Hermione said. "It says here that affected people testified that their memories made more sense than when they didn't include her."

"What?" Ron said, flabbergasted.

"She went several years back in time," Hermione said. "But, unlike what would've happened if she'd used a time-turner, nobody who saw her in the past remembered her until she returned to her present time, their future. Instead, they remembered things that never happened, to accommodate for her absence in their memory _._ "

"So it sort of worked like a Memory Modification Charm," Ron said, some understanding starting to form.

"Exactly," Hermione said. "So she _had_ to go back in time, because she _did_ go back in time, but nobody remembered her until she returned to _their_ future, _her_ present time. A phenomenon that was named after her: The Garus Glitch. It says here that after one of her experiments with the spell, her experiment was confiscated by the Ministry of Magic, because two wizards involved in a violent love triangle with her in the past ended up killing each other. They locked all her notes and supplies for the experiment in the Department of Mysteries.

"That door in the department we couldn't get open," Harry said. "They locked that room because the experiment inside it was too dangerous to continue."

"That has to be what I'm talking about in the note with Regulus," Hermione said. "That's the only way it makes sense. Somehow, I got back to his time using the Garus Glitch, and I helped him destroy the Horcrux. That would explain why we couldn't kill Nagini. Technically, though the Horcrux _was_ destroyed, it can't _be_ destroyed until I go back in time and destroy it with Regulus Black."

"Hermione, it's dangerous!" Ron said, startled by how quick she was to accept her apparent task. "So dangerous that the Ministry seized it and locked it away where no one could get to it!"

"Restrictions like that have never stopped us before," Hermione shrugged. Ron's shock turned to mild desperation. He moved over to where she sat and grabbed both her hands, making her drop the book into her lap.

"Hermione, we're talking about breaking the law _,_ breaking into the Ministry again, with everyonelooking for us, and all going back from the middle of the second magic war, to the middle of the first _,_ " he said, trying to coax out the more sensible side of Hermione.

"Not all of us," Hermione corrected. "Me. Harry looks almost exactly like his father and your mother should be a seventh-year, married to your father, and already a mother to a baby Bill. You two would be too conspicuous. I'm the only one of us with no previous relation to the wizarding world. I'm the only one that won't run into my parents in class." Ron stared at her, unable to argue. Harry was staring at her too, stunned by her last statement. The concept of her spending so much time with his parents... it was irony at its most brutal.

"So, the next questions are: How do we get to Garus' experiment? And what are you going to do if we can get you back to the right time?" Harry said, ignoring the sickening sensations he felt in his stomach. Ron stared at Harry, clearly uncomfortable with where this conversation kept heading, despite his resistance. With a heavy sigh, he chose to give in to the inevitable.

"If she's gonna go back, we'll still want to communicate with her," he said. "Didn't you and Sirius use two-way mirrors?"

"Yeah," Harry said. "I still have mine, but I don't know where Sirius kept his. It's probably here somewhere. Kreacher!" Kreacher appeared with a resounding cracking noise and leered at Harry and his friends.

"What does Master want now?" He spoke as though the words burned his tongue.

"Did you ever see Sirius with a hand-mirror?" Harry asked the contemptuous elf.

"Kreacher _might_ have," the elf responded smugly.

"Well, go get it from where you _might_ have seen him put it," Harry said with equal disdain. "And bring it here." Kreacher stalked off, hissing more verbal assaults under his breath.

"Since the break-in in fifth year, they've tightened security all over the Ministry," Ron said once Kreacher was out of sight. "Leave it to the auror-turned-Minister to keep to his roots."

"There has to be a way to get in that room," Hermione said. "We saw the note. I _did_ make it back there, so I will _._ "

"Mirror?" The trio jumped as one. They hadn't seen or heard Kreacher come up behind Harry. Kreacher was holding the second of the two-way mirrors out to Harry, though his eyes were on Hermione. "What room, Miss?" Kreacher asked her, making another very Umbridge-like attempt to seem friendly. "Back where?"

"It's none of your business, Kreacher," Harry snapped, losing the last of his patience with Kreacher's games. He took the mirror from Kreacher and immediately tucked it inside his jacket.

"That's one of the mirrors you can see another wizard through," Kreacher continued, still trying to seem innocent and of good intentions. "Master already has one. Why does he need the other? Are Master and his friends going to part?" Harry glared at Kreacher.

"Kreacher, you are forbidden to tell anyone you ever saw me, Ron, or Hermione. You cannot repeat anything you heard said here, or anything that you said yourself. _You are not to tell anyone you were ever here, at all._ " Harry recited the proper commands to force the elf's silence, under any and all circumstances. Kreacher's falsely kind demeanor was gone in a flash. He opened his mouth to spew a comeback when Harry interrupted.

"Remember, Kreacher, no more insults, or you get to stay in your little storage room." Kreacher was silent, though staring daggers at Harry. "Go back to Bellatrix, Kreacher," Harry told the elf coolly. "If she goes as far trying to get you to talk as she did with the Longbottoms, you'll be no worse off." The elf gave the trio one more glare, then he disappeared.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione couldn't sleep that night, back in their Knockturn Alley hideout. The discoveries of the day left them stunned, sickened, and searching for answers. Though they had the two-way mirrors, would they still work in different times? How would they get to Garus' experiment in the Ministry? What would Harry and Ron do, if they were able to get Hermione back to the time when their parents were their age, while she was gone? What would happen to Hermione? The concept of having to separate from each other for an indefinite amount of time was almost more than they could take. They all sat bolt upright in bed when a sound like a clap of thunder echoed through their room.

"Kreacher?!" Harry blurted, blinking at their elf intruder. "What are you doing here?!"

"Mistress Bellatrix ordered Kreacher to deliver a gift to Master and his friends," the elf answered as though Harry's question was a shock to him, his narrow eyes gleaming wickedly.

"Bellatrix sent you here?!" Hermione asked anxiously, pulling her covers higher up around her. "How did she—"

"Master ordered Kreacher to say nothing about where he'd been. Kreacher didn't." The elf continued, "But Mistress guessed who he'd been with, and she ordered him to return to Master with a gift. Kreacher can't refuse an order to do good for his master. Kreacher brings Master this." Kreacher held up a large crystal that instantly began radiating a glaringly bright purple light. Hermione squinted at the inscription on the crystal's face.

"Harry, it's a power beacon!" She screamed, "They've activated it! They know where we are!"

"GRAB THE BAGS!" Harry shouted, throwing himself from his bed. As soon as he grabbed his bottomless bag, he pulled a sock out of it that he threw at Kreacher. "You're dismissed, Kreacher!" He shouted over his shoulder as he, Ron, and Hermione charged out the door of their room, in their pajamas, their bags slung about their shoulders and their wands clutched tightly in their hands. They expected they'd left things behind, but every extra second they spent in that room could be fatal.

A couple of wizards were entering the inn as the trio reached the lobby. Unable to slow down in time, the trio collided with the two men. All five lobby occupants fell to the floor in a tangle of bodies and bags. The two men pushed themselves up and one growled, "Watch where you're going you... Bloody Hell, it's them!"

Harry, Hermione, and Ron looked toward the men, startled, and they saw a bright flash of light from a camera instead. It was the camera of a professional photographer. "How many people are going to find us in one night?!" Ron shouted, throwing an arm up to cover his face and pulling Hermione up with his other hand.

"Ignore it!" Harry yelled, "Just run!" He dodged around the photographer and the other wizard, Hermione at his heels and Ron behind her. More flashes of light burst from the photographer's camera as they fled. Too tired to safely Disapparate, and knowing the Knight Bus was too obvious, they just ran as hard as they could.

Harry shoved an arm in his bag as they headed in the direction of Diagon Alley. He pulled his Firebolt out at an awkward angle. Ron followed his lead and pulled out a Nimbus Two-Thousand Fred and George had gifted to him. Harry glanced at Hermione.

"Hermione, ride with me," Harry called to her. He would be able to fly with her better than Ron would.

As soon as the trio reached the more open area of Diagon Alley, they mounted the two brooms and took flight. Just as they were flying over Gringotts bank, a jet of red light shot past them, barely missing Ron's head. As Harry and Ron broke into maneuvers they might use in a quidditch match, Hermione twisted around and showered the pack of Death Eaters on the ground below with Stunners. More of their curses focused in on her in retaliation, but Harry dodged them with relative ease.

The Death Eaters' attacks continued to chase them for what seemed like an endless distance, but the airborne trio had the advantage. They finally lost their attackers when they flew over the top of a dense cluster of trees the Death Eaters couldn't aim through.

"Now where do we go," Hermione said breathlessly in Harry's ear, her voice hoarse from shouting defensive spells. Harry couldn't answer. He had no idea.


	8. The Ghost, the Monster, and the Mother

" _Knockturn Alley?!"_

Mrs. Weasley was beside herself in an early morning Order meeting. McGonagall had called the meeting when she saw that a new picture of Harry, Ron, and Hermione covered the front page of the Daily Prophet.

"And Death Eaters sighted in the area?!" Mrs. Weasley continued venting her outrage. "First they're found outside Azkaban, and now this?! What are they doing, Minerva?!"

"Your guess remains as good as mine, Molly," McGonagall answered as calmly as she could, "or any of ours."

"Their hideouts really weren't so illogical," Remus chimed in, earning a startled, disapproving look from Mrs. Weasley. "Those places were the last places anyone would have expected to find them. It's just bad luck that the Death Eaters did."

" _Bad luck?!"_ Mrs. Weasley repeated. "Bad luck?! How much 'bad luck' can three children have?"

"They're not children, Molly," Remus said. "They're the same age we were when we started forming the Order."

"They formed Dumbledore's Army two years ago!" Ginny interjected vehemently, "Harry was hit with his first Unforgivable at age _one_! I was possessed at _eleven_! Hermione was petrified at _twelve_! Harry, Ron, and Hermione have nearly been killed more times than most others their age have attempted a Patronus!"

"Ginny!" Mr. Weasley pulled his daughter to him, holding her tightly. "It's okay, Ginny. It'll be okay…"

"No it won't," Ginny sobbed weakly. "Even if they aren't killed, their lives are already ruined… The pain… The death… The fighting… Even if they survive, what will they have left?" Mr. Weasley stared down at his daughter as though he'd never seen her clearly before. His youngest child in so much pain, and there was little he could do about it.

"They'll have us, Ginny," he whispered. "They'll always have all of us _._ " Remus stared at Ginny and her father with stinging eyes. He remembered when Arthur Weasley had said those same words to Molly, when James and Lily went into hiding from Voldemort.

* * *

"Ron, let's stop down here," Harry said. "We need to rest. Hermione's going to fall of the broom soon." Ron looked from Harry to Hermione and nodded. They descended slowly, landing on a quiet residential street and promptly storing the brooms back in their bags.

"We'll need to find a place where we can change clothes, before we get much more daylight," Harry said quietly.

"Turn right at the end of the block," Hermione mumbled groggily. Harry glanced back at her.

"How do you—"

"We're near my house," Hermione answered the unfinished question. "My parents are staying with friends of theirs, out of town."

"A real house?" Ron asked longingly, "With furniture, and food, and water? Getting chased out of Knockturn Alley was worth it!" Harry couldn't help but laugh. He had to agree.

The Grangers' house was clean and cozy, with a faint smell of vanilla in the air from scented candles placed throughout the house. Hermione put various wards and Locking Spells on all the doors and windows while Ron and Harry helped themselves to the various sugar-free snacks, fruits, and biscuits in the kitchen. They brought their findings back to the living room, where they all climbed on a long, comfortable couch together. They didn't actually eat much of the food. They all fell asleep too fast.

* * *

"Why didn't they just come here to begin with?" The dark-eyed cloaked man grumbled. "If she knew her parents weren't here—"

"Then they wouldn't have already destroyed two Horcruxes, and attempted a third," the light-eyed cloaked man said brightly, his cheery attitude offending his companion more than his actual statement.

"Do you know when her parents are coming back?" The dark-eyed man inquired.

"Oh, not for quite some time," the light-eyed man answered. "I advised them to lie low after Harry told Hermione and Ron about the Horcruxes. After all, being muggles, they couldn't very well defend themselves."

"So you know where they are?" The dark-eyed man prodded.

"No, and neither does she," the light-eyed man answered more briskly.

"I suppose the least she and her parents know of each other, the better," the dark-eyed man conceded.

"No need to create more worry than necessary," the light-eyed man said. "She'll be fine once we speak with her." The dark-eyed man laughed darkly.

"Do you remember what it was like back then?" He asked.

"I can't know for sure if I do, nor can you," the light-eyed man replied. "No one should truly remember until she returns."

"If she gets there," the dark-eyed man said coolly.

"She was there," the light-eyed man said, smiling. "I only hope to see your face when you remember her." The dark-eyed man said nothing. "She put up strong wards," the light-eyed man said, looking back at the Grangers' house. "We'd better start disarming them."

* * *

The late-afternoon sun reflected off Hermione's slightly damp hair. She, Harry, and Ron were finally clean and dressed after their flight from Knockturn Alley, and happily dining on their first good, balanced meal since they fled Bill and Fleur's wedding reception. The three of them were throwing around ideas of how to break into the Department of Mysteries again when a sudden chill spread through the room. Harry drew his wand within the second.

"What was that?" Ron asked no one in particular, drawing his own wand. Hermione also drew her wand as she, Harry, and Ron stood and looked around the room. A moment later, all three of their wands ripped free from their hands and flew across the room. Harry made a dive for his own wand, but found he couldn't move. His feet were rooted on the spot. He looked over at Ron and Hermione and saw they seemed to share the same problem. That is, until their stomachs all dropped as one when a ghost walked into the room.

"I'm sorry I had to do that," Albus Dumbledore said as he removed his long hooded cloak and adjusted his half-moon spectacles over his light eyes, "but the way you three have been fighting lately, I dared not spark such chaos as I would have, had I entered otherwise." It was hard to tell if Harry, Ron, or Hermione took in a word he said. They were all three blinking at him, as though willing a hallucination to disappear. After a moment, they were blinking back tears.

"I watched you die," Harry said softly. "I watched you fall off the Astronomy Tower. Everyone saw you, dead, at the bottom. We were at your funeral."

"I cannot apologize enough for what I had to put you all through," Dumbledore said solemnly. "But I can explain why I had to, and why Severus had to—"

" _Snape killed you_!" Harry snapped, angry at whoever this imposter was for daring to pose as Dumbledore.

"That's what you all had to think, Harry," Dumbledore said, though his own eyes glistened for the pain in the three young faces before him. "We planned all along to explain the plan to you three, but we had to wait for the right time. That's why we've been following you since you left the wedding. We were there outside Azkaban. We sent you the note about R.A.B.—"

"We?" Harry interrupted. A moment later, Hermione uttered a small scream. Snape had emerged from a room beside her, removing his own hooded cloak and looking at them all with his dark eyes sharp and alert.

"YOU MONSTER," Hermione shrieked soon afterwards. "I TRUSTED YOU! I DEFENDED YOU! WHEN NO ONE ELSE BELIEVED IN YOU, I DID! YOU TREATED US LIKE GARBAGE, BUT I _RESPECTED_ YOU! YOU COWARDLY, MANIPULATIVE MONSTER!"

When Hermione stopped to catch her breath, Dumbledore addressed her carefully. "Now, Hermione, if Severus had done what you believe he did, and I was an imposter, don't you think you would be receiving a very different response?" Hermione glared at him at first, but she visibly calmed before she responded.

"From the first time Harry followed the notes written in that potions book, by the Half-Blood Prince, I knew something wasn't right," she said. "While Harry and Ron were enjoying using some of the notes and spells, I was trying to figure out who he was. I found and article about Eileen Prince, but couldn't find anything more. Then there was that incident with the Sectumsempra Curse. That kind of dark magic, written amongst other notes that had seemed so harmless, even helpful…"

"Hermione," Dumbledore began, "that—"

" _I_ set fire to your robes in first year," Hermione suddenly confessed, turning to Snape, who stared back at her intensely. "I thought you were the one jinxing Harry's broom, not Quirrel. In second year, _I_ was the one who broke into your stores to make Polyjuice Potion, so we could get inside the Slytherin common room, to find out more about the Chamber. In third year, _I_ figured out the truth about Remus, after _I_ was the _only one_ to do your werewolf essay, but I kept his secret. I used the time-turner I'd been using to take extra classes to go back in time with Harry, to save Buckbeak and Sirius. So, _I_ lost you the Order of Merlin. In fifth year, _I_ convinced Umbridge to take Harry and me into the forest, where we could get the centaurs to take her away from us." Snape stared at Hermione with a strange look in his eyes that made both Ron and Harry shift uneasily. Hermione stared up at him defiantly.

"Is that enough for you?" She asked coldly, "Enough to kill me now?" Harry could've sworn he saw the slightest flicker of a smile across Snape's face before Snape's stare moved from Hermione to Dumbledore.

"Perhaps she can handle it," he conceded, crisply and calmly as ever. Dumbledore definitely smiled.

"Ron," he said. "If you have nothing else to vent, as your friends have, we have quite a lot to discuss in a very short time."

Though they were still unarmed, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were at least free of the spell that had initially bound them, and they were sitting tensely on the Grangers' couch in the living room. Dumbledore was seated in an armchair across from them. Snape was standing against the wall behind the chair. Dumbledore had been explaining his actions before the night of the Hogwarts attack to his three students, and he had just come to the part before he called Harry to his office, before they went after the Horcrux.

"How could you have survived that night?" Harry asked plainly.

"Because _that_ wasn't me," Dumbledore answered. The trio gaped at him.

"Then who was it?" Ron asked.

"Narcissa Malfoy," Dumbledore answered.

"What?!" The trio spoke as one.

"But she initiated the Unbreakable Vow with Snape, to protect Draco," Harry said.

"And the vow was kept," Dumbledore said. "Not in the way she initially intended, but in a way she diverted to." Harry, Ron, and Hermione continued to stare at Dumbledore in a stunned silence. They all jumped when Snape picked up the story.

"I chose to engage Narcissa's request for the Unbreakable Vow because I knew she would word the vow carefully, especially with Bellatrix present. Narcissa and I understood each other. She knew the Dark Lord was using Draco to punish Lucius, and she knew Draco was no Death Eater. As much as he may seem like his father, he's not. Narcissa worded the vow in such a way as to shut her sister up, but leave me in control.

"She asked that, in the event that Draco couldn't carry out the Dark Lord's orders to commit murder, I take over the job. Bellatrix doesn't know Draco like his mother and I do. Narcissa and I knew then that Draco was no murderer, and thus _couldn't_ follow the Dark Lord's orders. Most of my vow was upheld in that instant."

"There was one more hurdle, however," Dumbledore said. "I had to die. Harry, you heard the person you thought was me offer the Order's protection to Draco and, if possible, his parents. Severus had already passed that message to Narcissa, in secret. She went to Azkaban to confront Lucius, but he was furious with her for considering the offer."

"So she told Lucius that Draco felt the same way he did," Snape continued. "But she said she couldn't take it anymore. She told him she would run away and kill herself before the Dark Lord or another Death Eater could. Instead, she came back to me and told me she would sacrifice herself for our cause. To keep Draco safe, she would die in Albus' place."

"And so, to lead Voldemort to believe the greatest threat against him was gone," Dumbledore rounded off the explanation. "Voldemort didn't even know I knew about the Horcruxes, and he underestimates the three of you far too much. He assumed if I was gone that he would have no more trouble handling you and all the others. So, I let him believe Severus had killed me. The truth is, it was Narcissa Malfoy, under the effects of Polyjuice Potion—she was in my office when you came to meet me, Harry. It was Narcissa who went after the Horcrux with you. It was Narcissa on that tower with you."

"It was Narcissa that I killed," Snape said apathetically, though the expression on his face gave away a hint of remorse. "Then I took Draco and fled with the others. I told him later that his mother had committed suicide."

"To guarantee that Voldemort believed me to be dead, I had to let all of you believe the same," Dumbledore said, his eyes glistening with tears again. "You've no idea how painful it was for me to cause all of you so much pain, but it was necessary." Dumbledore looked at Harry, Ron, and Hermione with teary eyes that shone with pride.

"I knew you three wouldn't give up," he said. "I knew you would carry on with what we started, even if it meant going on alone. In truth, you were rarely alone. We followed you from the day you left the Order, separating when Severus had to return to Voldemort and the Death Eaters, or when we'd be too easily noticed, but staying as close as we could the whole time. It was I who showed you those visions of the Horcruxes, Harry. It was Legilimency. We helped you when necessary, but you really did most of the work yourselves. You've done brilliantly, you three."

"Up until you found out about Regulus," Snape said scathingly. "Then you hit a wall."

"Sorry we haven't yet broken into the Ministry for our _second time_ ," Hermione said with the unusual daring that Death Eaters seemed to bring out in her. "Besides, you have yet to explain how _you_ know about me and Regulus to begin with."

"The same way you do," Snape answered evenly, seemingly unmoved by her challenging behavior, though clearly noticing it. "We saw the book and the note before you did."

"How?" Hermione continued pushing, on the edge of her seat. "Only Kreacher can open that door."

"But we can open Kreacher's mind," Snape retorted.

"You used Legilimency on a house elf?!" Hermione protested.

"Oh yes," Snape bit back. "I forgot you're the authority on house elf rights. Though, you didn't exactly treat Kreacher too kindly yourself, when you were recently at the manor."

"Severus, Hermione, that's quite enough," Dumbledore said firmly, but kindly. "Hermione, I don't know what's gotten into you lately, but practice controlling it. Fire has its uses, but it can be disastrous when allowed to run wild. You will want to be able to hold your ground in the time you're headed to, but be careful who you provoke, and how you do it. Severus, for one, is a student in that year who you'll want to be careful around. He had not yet turned spy for us." Hermione stared from Dumbledore to Snape and back again before she nodded.

"So you know how we can reach Garus' experiment? And how I can convince Regulus to help me, once back in the right time?" She asked.

"We have an idea," Dumbledore answered.


	9. The Pensive Perfume

"We can get into the Ministry the same way I got in, on the night of the attack," Dumbledore said. "We can use one of the secret Portkeys. Security won't be too tight around those. I'm one of the very few people who knows about them and, as far as the rest of the wizarding world is concerned, I'm dead."

"What about the actual experiment room?" Ron asked, "Those aren't ordinary wards on that room. How will we get in?"

"Oh, I'll take care of that," Dumbledore said confidently. "It's no problem."

"We don't know how to operate the experiment," Hermione said. "The spells involved, the steps required—"

"Are simple enough," Snape said plainly. "The two of us already got into that room to examine it. It isn't much more difficult to use than the time-turners. The complicated part is the preparation beforehand."

"Preparation for what?" Harry asked.

"If Ms. Granger is to travel twenty-one years into the past, it is important that she be conditioned to tolerate the magnitude of the involved magic," Snape answered in an all-too-familiar taunting drawl. "Thankfully, she already has experience with time travel and is skilled in Apparation, as the sensation of extensive time travel can be similar. Then there is the matter of how long she can remain in the past."

"Garus stayed as long as five months," Hermione offered.

"Garus built up to five months after several turns with the experiment," Dumbledore corrected. "At most, you might be able to manage four months."

" _Four months_?!" Ron repeated, "That long?!"

"Well, I'm not going to meet and befriend Regulus Black in one day, Ron," Hermione said reasonably. "Then I'll still have to find a way to explain our situation to him and convince him to help me destroy the Horcrux. He was a Death Eater, Ron. Helping us means betraying Voldemort. No one can remember what he and I did, but it's probably the real reason why the other Death Eaters killed him."

"And it's not likely he'd die for someone he just met," Harry added. "The three of us at least waited two months after meeting before we risked our lives for each other, fighting that troll in our first year." Ron and Hermione couldn't help but laugh. Those days when they had first met seemed more like a bittersweet dream than reality. No, their new reality was very dark and different, as Dumbledore seemed to also be thinking.

"One finds it hard to believe there was ever a time when you three weren't inseparable," he said. "But yes, it did take you boys a little while to warm up to Hermione. As soon as she lied to a teacher for you, the team was set." Hermione, Ron, and Harry blinked at Dumbledore, then they laughed again. Of course Dumbledore knew what really happened on their first Halloween together.

"Regulus was no misfit, and he had plenty of friends in his seventh year," Snape said harshly, pulling everyone back from their bittersweet memories. "He won't be so quick to cling to you so desperately."

"Well, you didn't have any friends then, did you?" Harry bit back, equally harshly. "Maybe she can start with you and get to Regulus that way."

"Harry, enough." Dumbledore said calmly, while giving Snape an equally settling look, before he could retort.

"You're forgetting something anyway, Harry," Hermione said. Everyone looked at her to see that she looked very troubled about something. Ron touched her shoulder.

"Hermione?" He prodded.

"I'm muggleborn," she said. "Or as the lot we're talking about usually puts it, a Mudblood. The notes between me and Regulus implied that he knew that I'm muggleborn, but he can't have known the whole time. As bad as blood prejudice is now, it was much worse then. The only words any of the Slytherins in that time would say to me would be an attempt to send me to the Hospital Wing."

"Which is why they won't know you're muggleborn," Dumbledore said, nodding to Snape, who quickly left the room.

"I went by my real name, though," Hermione contested. "They'll be able to tell by my name—"

"They _would_ be able to tell by your name," Dumbledore corrected, "if they didn't already know that you're actually a half-blood witch, raised by your muggle father after your birth because your pureblood mother was forbidden to speak to you or your father again." Dumbledore had spoken with such a straight face that Hermione laughed outright.

"What?!" She laughed, "Why would they think that?!"

"Because of this," Snape said as he reentered the room. He was holding a tall, thin spray bottle that seemed to be filled with swirling blue clouds. "Pensive Perfume," he continued. "Much like one does with a pensive, you extract thoughts and memories and collect them in the solution. In this perfume form, you wear the thoughts and memories for others to unconsciously detect and interpret." Snape held the bottle out to Hermione. She hesitated, then took it with fingers that trembled slightly.

"I still don't understand how this will make everyone in the past believe I'm half-blood," she said, her inquiring eyes moving from the bottle to Snape, then to Dumbledore.

"The thoughts and memories don't have to be real to be used, Hermione," Dumbledore said. "Much like Voldemort used Legilimency to show Harry a false vision of Sirius being held captive in the Department of Mysteries, false memories can fill the Pensive Perfume, to mislead others as you must do in the time you're going to."

"It was not uncommon for half-bloods in that time to be abandoned by pureblood relatives avoiding possible damage to their reputations for interrelating with muggles," Snape said. "Keep to that story with enough conviction and no one should question you." Hermione nodded.

"So, how exactly do I use it?" She asked.

"The thoughts and memories that go into the solution have to come from your own mind, but the memories can enter your mind from a different source," Dumbledore answered. "Severus and I are both skilled in Legilimency. As long as you don't resist us with Occlumency, we can transfer convincing false memories into your mind, for you to transfer to the perfume. Once the perfume is complete, you simply spray the solution on yourself every twenty-four hours to keep it potent enough to convince those around you of authenticity." Hermione gripped Ron's hand, beside her. Harry, sitting by her other side, reached over to grip her other hand protectively.

"When Voldemort put those visions of Sirius in my head, the three of us, along with Ginny, Neville, and Luna, were nearly killed while trying to save him," Harry said. "And when everyone came to save us, Sirius actually did end up dead."

"None of what we put in Hermione's head will harm her, or anyone else," Dumbledore said bracingly. "You must trust that we will do everything we can to ensure her safety and ability to complete her task. Severus and I are both alive and on your side, Harry. We both want to get all three of you through this, so we may end this war for good." Harry stared at Dumbledore for a moment before he nodded.

"What do I need to do?" Hermione asked timidly. Dumbledore stood and extended his healthy left hand.

"Come here, Hermione," he said. Hermione stood up slowly and took a couple steps toward Dumbledore and Snape. She hesitated, then she placed her trembling hand in Dumbledore's extended one. Dumbledore seemed to radiate pride as he looked down into her face. "Such Legilimency can, of course, be performed miles apart by skilled Legilimens, but it goes far more smoothly if there is physical contact as well as eye contact between those involved. If you could allow Severus your other hand?" Hermione shuddered slightly, but looked over to Snape and extended her other hand to him. Snape took it with as gentle a touch as possible, though his expression remained cool and apathetic. "Remember, Hermione," Dumbledore continued, "don't resist us." Hermione nodded, her eyes on Snape. Snape's eyes, in turn, held hers. A moment later, he and Dumbledore spoke together.

" _Legilimens_."

Hermione's body briefly tensed, then she gradually relaxed again. Harry and Ron stood, but kept their distance. Hermione saw flashes of a man with her eyes. He was intended to be her father. His name was Inness Granger. Hermione heard a woman's warm, beautiful voice humming a song, and she felt sleepy. That woman was meant to be her mother, singing her to sleep. Hermione saw flashes of her own real childhood, only her real father wasn't in them. He was replaced by the man, Inness. Her real mother wasn't in them either. No mother was in them at all. Hermione then saw herself in what she recognized as Beauxbatons robes, saying goodbye to other like-dressed girls, telling them she was transferring to Hogwarts, closer to where her father, Inness, lived. Then she saw Inness again, but in a hospital bed. He'd been in a horrible car crash. He was dead…

Hermione blinked and swayed slightly on the spot before she felt the two hands she held strengthening their grip, and she felt four more hands brace her from behind. She'd been released from Snape and Dumbledore's spell. The six hands on her turned to eight as she was guided back to the couch and helped to lie down. She blinked a couple more times before Harry, Ron, Snape, and Dumbledore all came clearly into her vision.

"Do you understand what you saw, Hermione?" Dumbledore asked her gently. Hermione nodded.

"I heard my mother's voice, but didn't see her," she said. "I saw my father, Inness Granger. I saw a lot of my real memories, but with Inness in them. I was a student at Beauxbatons, but was transferring to Hogwarts to be closer to my father. He was in a car crash, though. He died." Hermione blinked again, still trying to collect her thoughts. "I'm entering Hogwarts as a seventh year, after having previously attended Beauxbatons Academy. I never knew my mother, or any of my pureblood relatives, but my father, Inness Granger, did tell me she was a pureblood witch. He just recently died in a car crash."

"And any other muggle members of your family don't know you're a witch, and you have no contact with them," Snape added. "You've lost touch with your old Beauxbatons friends, too. You have connections with no one, so no one can contradict your story." Hermione nodded once more.

"Now what do I have to do?" She asked.

"Extract those memories from your mind and add them to the Pensive Perfume," Snape answered. Hermione sat up and stretched her neck to each side. She picked up her wand and held the tip to her right temple, as she focused on those new memories. Ron picked up the spray bottle and twisted off the spray nozzle. The cloudy blue mist in the bottle rose slightly above the rim and swirled around the top. Hermione slowly drew her wand away from her head, extracting a long, silvery strand of light from her head with it. She held her wand over the bottle opening and watched as the blue clouds about the rim surged upward and clung to the silver Pensive strand. The light broke off her wand and fell down through the blue funnel, into the bottle. The skin of clouds retreated in last. Ron recapped the bottle as the solution turned from a pale blue to a bright turquoise.

"That bottle should be enough to last the full four months," Snape said. "Just one spray every twenty-four hours. It will not wash off."

"I should probably make it easier to keep with me," Hermione said as she took the bottle from Ron. She tapped it twice with her wand, and the tall, thin bottle was transfigured into a bright turquoise pin in the shape of an otter, her Patronus. She pinned the otter pin on her sweater and looked to Dumbledore for approval.

"Perfect," he said, smiling. "Now, we just need to get you back to the right time."

* * *

"Ron, come on, don't fall behind _,_ " Hermione whispered urgently. She, Ron, and Harry were back in their hooded cloaks, carrying their bottomless bags. They were following close behind the two taller hooded figures of Dumbledore and Snape. It was shortly after midnight and pitch black outside, with very little light from the moon and stars.

"Keep quiet, you three," Dumbledore whispered back to them. "We're coming up to the Portkey now. No one should be around it, but be cautious." Harry was the first of the trio to see the Portkey: An owl. It looked real, but it was actually made of stone. He lengthened his stride so he came up beside Dumbledore, next to the stone owl. Snape came up a few steps behind them, with Ron and Hermione close enough behind him that their cloaks billowed out to touch each other.

"Where exactly will this Portkey take us?" Harry asked Dumbledore.

"Into the Minister's office," Dumbledore answered.

"What?!" Harry said, stunned. A Portkey that was out in the middle of the woods going directly into the Minister of Magic's office was shocking enough, but the fact that a group like theirs was using it was unbelievable, especially when the Minister was the previous head of the aurors.

"The closer you are to danger, the farther you are from harm," Dumbledore said. "Much like the decisions you three made to stay outside Azkaban and in Knockturn Alley, the decision to go in through the Minister's office is on a bet that he won't be looking for us in there, nor will anyone else. In fact, as busy as Scrimgeour has been hunting down Death Eaters, trying to keep order with the frightened public, and looking for the three of you, I doubt he spends much time at all in his office." Harry nodded. When it was put that way, it made much more sense.

Once the full group of five had gathered around the stone owl, they all placed a hand in one of the spaces between the body and the wings, where they could get the best grip. There was a pause, then and abrupt jerk. Soon, they were drawn up into the dizzying whirlwind of Portkey travel. Hermione's hand slipped slightly. Within that same second, the free hands of all five wizards around her fell on her, pulling her back. A minute later, Dumbledore nodded to the group, and they all released the Portkey. Dumbledore and Snape landed on their feet, on either side of Scrimgeour's office. Harry, Ron, and Hermione would've landed on their feet if they hadn't all landed in the exact same spot.

The three Gryffindors landed in a pile, their cloaks twisted around them like sleeping bags. They all bit their tongues to keep from making any more noise. The thud of their landing was loud enough. They all rolled away from each other and got back to their feet, pulling their bottomless bags back up around their shoulders. Wasting no time, they immediately began filling out of the office, behind Dumbledore and Snape. Only a few nighttime guards and a few unlucky clerks wandered the Ministry of Magic at such a late hour. Nevertheless, Snape and Dumbledore kept their wands ready in their hands. Minutes later, they were outside the door that had consumed Harry's dreams for so long: The door to the Department of Mysteries.

Harry didn't realize he'd stopped moving until Hermione's hand touched his shoulder. One look at her, and then at Ron, told Harry they were thinking about the same thing: The last time they'd come here, they were severely injured, and Sirius was killed by Bellatrix Lestrange. There was a brief moment when Harry considered breaking away from the group and running to that veil, to try calling Sirius back out one more time, but he knew it would be in vain. Not to mention, there were more important matters to tend to at the time.

When they reached the revolving room of doors, Dumbledore halted its spinning by simply raising his hand like he used to at Hogwarts, to request silence in the Great Hall. Without hesitation, he walked up to a door and tugged at the doorknob to find it was locked. "Back against the opposite wall," he said, and Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Snape all backed up to the wall across the room. Dumbledore held his Horcrux-shriveled hand slightly under the doorknob and held his wand up to the doorknob with his other hand.

" _Sectumportus Imperius_ ," Dumbledore said, and there was a sound like a muffled baby mandrake's cry. A fiery orb of light plunged from the doorknob, down into Dumbledore's shriveled hand. He promptly threw the orb at another door beside him. There was a loud pop, and the orb extinguished as it seemed to pour into the other doorknob like hot magma. Snape moved forward again, with Hermione, Harry, and Ron following his lead. Snape tugged at the doorknob Dumbledore had tossed the orb of fiery light into to reveal that it was locked.

"So, if that door is locked," Harry said, looking over at Dumbledore, who was putting a burn healing balm on his even more shriveled hand, "was the light the lock?" Dumbledore nodded and easily opened the door in front of him. A pearly white light poured out of the room, as did a draft of cool, stale air. It was Hermione's turn to stand frozen on the spot. Ron came around in front of her and hugged her close.

"No going back now," Hermione said. "I can do this."

"We know you can," Harry said.

"Yes, we do," Dumbledore agreed. Snape said nothing, stepping around the tender scene and entering the room first. Hermione pulled away from Ron and followed Snape inside. Ron, Harry, and Dumbledore filed in behind her. The sight that greeted them was underwhelming.

There was a small table in the middle of a disproportionately large room. Sitting on top of it was a large stack of parchment and a small wooden box. Hermione immediately proceeded to the table and unrolled the largest scroll of parchment. The hand-written script was so small it was barely legible. "Don't bother, Ms. Granger," Snape said, coming up to the other side of the table. "It takes for too long to study all of it, especially when there is very little information that is absolutely necessary for you to know." Hermione frowned at Snape, but set the parchment aside anyway. She wasn't thrilled with the idea of not knowing what she was working with as thoroughly as possible, but she understood time was of the essence.

Dumbledore, Harry, and Ron came up to the table beside Hermione and Snape. Dumbledore opened the wooden box to reveal what appeared to be a basic watch with an opalescent face and a brown leather band. The watch was, mysteriously, still working and it displayed the correct time. Dumbledore extracted the watch from the box and helped Hermione put it on her left wrist. Hermione stared at it expectantly, but nothing happened. "Just wait," Dumbledore said knowingly.

"Keep that watch in sight, if not on your wrist at all times," Snape said, as if giving her instructions in a classroom. "You cannot return to this time without it. To activate its ability to operate as more than a watch, you must choose a term or phrase you will consistently use to activate it." Hermione nodded.

"It will have to be a phrase you won't accidentally use in a conversation," Dumbledore added. Hermione thought for a moment, then she looked at Ron.

"Fleur Weasley," she said. Ron smiled at Hermione.

"Fitting," he said. "That name has only existed for a few months. Nobody should know it before Fleur was even born. And her and Bill's wedding was kind of where all this started."

"Good," Dumbledore agreed. "Now, Hermione, cross your arms in front of you and repeat the phrase again."

Hermione crossed her arms and repeated, "Fleur Weasley." The face of the watch expanded to twice its original size and the numbers on the face disappeared. The hands of the watch all rotated very quickly around the face, pointing at nothing in particular until Dumbledore spoke.

"Hogwarts front gates."

A small image of the Hogwarts front gates appeared on the watch, where the six used to be, and the minute hand came to a halt, pointing at it. "Twenty-one years past," Snape said, and a number twenty-one appeared where the twelve was on the normal watch. The hour hand came to a halt, pointing at the number twenty-one. Hermione visibly tensed as the tiny second hand began to spin so fast it became a bronze blur.

"Hermione, to stop that hand and start your time travel, you must repeat your activation phrase once more," Dumbledore said, "but not yet." Hermione nodded, speechless, and all-too-glad that she didn't have to go just yet.

"You already know how the Garus Glitch works from reading Nicolas' book," Dumbledore continued. "You also know the general time travel laws and precautions from having used a time-turner. The only additional precaution you must remember with the Garus Glitch is that there _is_ one way someone in this time _can_ remember your presence prematurely: If they use some form of time travel, in the past, while you're still there. It matters not where or how far they travel through time. If anyone who sees you in the past uses time travel, their future self will remember you, in that instant. As you can imagine, this could cause unspeakable problems. However, _you_ are the only student who has ever been permitted to use a time-turner and, to my knowledge, no one else in the time you're headed to was utilizing time travel for any purpose. So, that shouldn't be a problem." Hermione nodded again, still unable to speak.

"No one can really tell you how to handle yourself once you're back in the set time," Snape said as though he wished he could control everything she was about to go do. "Those decisions have to be yours alone. The best advice that can be given to you is this: Choose your battles carefully. Every choice you make, be it in a classroom or in a life-or-death duel, has the potential to change everything. There is little room for folly in what you're doing."

"I understand," Hermione choked out, forcing herself to speak again. "I have to focus on Regulus and the Horcrux." Snape stared at her for a moment. When he spoke again, his tone was soft but urgent.

"Millicent Bagnold was the Minister," he said. "And Wolfbane wasn't invented for another year, so be wary of _all_ werewolves, no matter how charming their human form may be."

"I'll let the Marauders handle Remus during full moons," Hermione said, knowing exactly which 'charming human' Snape was referring to.

"Oh, speaking of which," Harry said, reaching into his bottomless bag and pulling out the Marauders' Map, "you'll get more use out of this than we will. Just don't let any of the Marauders see it."

"I won't," Hermione said, taking the map and putting it in her own bottomless bag.

"Then you should be ready," Dumbledore said. "You won't have any of the Prefect duties you're used to. Lily Evans and James Potter were Head Girl and Head Boy." Harry gulped. Hermione gave him a pained look. She stepped around to the other side of the table to hug Harry.

"We have the mirrors, Harry," she said. "I'll tell you all I can about them."

"We're not sure the mirrors will work," Harry said.

"Then I'll tell you when I get back," Hermione said.

Harry hugged Hermione tighter. "I'll hold you to that," he said. Hermione laughed lightly. She and Harry separated and she turned to Ron.

"Keep me posted on my parents, too?" Ron asked, "And Bill?"

"Of course," Hermione said, and she hugged Ron fiercely. Ron wiped away a single tear that dropped onto Hermione's cheek. After looking at their audience with a little resentment, he gave her a very brief kiss and released her.

"It's nice to see you two finally got together," Dumbledore said warmly. "By the way, Harry, you and—"

"Ginny?" Harry asked. Dumbledore smiled. "We were," Harry said, "but it was too dangerous. I didn't want her targeted." Dumbledore nodded.

"I understand," he told Harry. "Are you ready, Hermione?"

"I guess so," Hermione answered. She hesitated, then she moved closer to Dumbledore and hugged him too. "I'm so glad you're back," she said.

"I'll see you soon, Hermione," he said. "I'll just be twenty-one years younger." Hermione laughed again, this time more comfortably. She turned to Snape.

"You're about to get some competition in Potions," she said.

"We'll see," Snape said darkly. Hermione turned back to Harry and Ron.

"I'll see you in four months," she said.

"Yeah, you will," Harry said reassuringly.

"Goodbye," Hermione said.

"Bye, Hermione," Harry, Ron, and Dumbledore said.

"Goodbye, Ms. Granger," Snape said somewhat flatly. Hermione looked at Garus' watch.

"Fleur Weasley," she spoke clearly. The tiny second hand on the watch stopped abruptly, pointing at the image of the Hogwarts gates. There was a bright flash of white light, and Hermione was gone.


	10. They’re All Alive, I’m Not

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rinoa (rih-NO-uh)

Hermione fell hard, just outside the Hogwarts front gates, her bottomless bag falling free of her arm and landing a couple feet away. She looked at Garus' watch immediately. It looked like a normal watch again. She picked up her bag and straightened her cloak as she stood up. She detached her otter pin from her sweater and quickly transfigured it back into the Pensive Perfume bottle. She held it out at half an arms-length and sprayed one pump of it on herself. She smiled when she found it smelled faintly of peppermint and pine, 'A fitting scent for late November and December,' she thought. She transfigured the bottle into a pin again, and just in time.

"Ms. Hermione Granger?" Hermione jumped and whirled around.

"Professor Dumbledore?!" She gasped before she could stop herself. The younger Dumbledore before her flashed a familiar benign smile. He didn't seem surprised she knew who he was, or that she seemed on edge.

"I hope you got here alright," he said. "You just lost your father, didn't you? I hope he didn't suffer."

"He didn't, Sir," Hermione said. "He died instantly. I…" A panic rose in Hermione's chest. She didn't know what else to say.

"No need to talk about it, Ms. Granger," Dumbledore said kindly. "I understand." Hermione just nodded. "We hold the sorting ceremony in the Great Hall for first years, at the start of term," Dumbledore continued, "but since we'll have to reawaken the Sorting Hat, we'll just do your sorting in my office." Hermione nodded and followed Dumbledore up the hill toward the castle, pinning her turquoise otter pin back on her sweater. As she walked, she noticed something: A member of the staff was casting cleansing spells at the Whomping Willow, several yards away.

"What's wrong with the Whomping Willow?" She asked, not thinking about what she was saying. She tensed.

"I assume you encountered the Willow when you visited the school a couple of years ago, searching for information about your mother's side of your family?" Dumbledore said, "You came during winter holiday, did you not?" Hermione nodded a little too frantically. Snape must have tempered the Pensive Perfume to cover her obvious familiarity with the school. "I wasn't here then," Dumbledore said. "I had some business to tend to in London." Hermione nodded again, not trusting herself to speak until she felt better able to censor herself.

"One of the students, Davy Gudgeon, tried to get past the Willow," Dumbledore answered her question. "He nearly lost an eye. He'll probably be confined to the Hospital Wing for another week. The Willow is quite aggressive, but it doesn't like having blood on it; it gets even more violent when bloodied. So, some brave souls among the staff are cleaning its branches."

Hermione and Dumbledore had reached the castle and were walking inside the Entrance Hall. It was almost completely deserted due to the time of night. The only other people in sight were the Head Boy and Head Girl, coming down the stairs.

"Professor Dumbledore, is this our new transfer student?" Lily Evans asked as she and James Potter came level with Dumbledore and Hermione.

"Yes, Ms. Evans," Dumbledore said. "This is Hermione Granger. Ms. Granger, this is our Head Girl, Lily Evans, and our Head Boy, James Potter. Both are Gryffindor seventh-years." Hermione shook the hands of Lily and James slowly, trying to buy herself time to squash the shock and awe that threatened to paralyze her before she had to speak.

"It's nice to meet you," she finally said.

"I heard about some of your time at Beauxbatons, Hermione," Lily said. "You were one of their top students there, weren't you?"

"I, um…." Hermione had no idea what to say. Could the Pensive Perfume really make them think they _already_ knew some things about her?

"Oh, c'mon, no need for modesty," James said. "You're among your own. You'll probably end up in Ravenclaw, but we'll hope for Gryffindor. We could use another girl that'll boost our chances for the House Cup." Hermione smiled more comfortably. She couldn't believe how much James reminded her of Harry.

"Thank you both," she said. "I'm hoping for Gryffindor, too." Lily and James both grinned.

"Even better odds, then," Lily said. "We're done with our rounds now. Do you mind if we come with you for your sorting, Hermione? Professor Dumbledore?"

"If Ms. Granger doesn't mind, I don't," Dumbledore said with a broad smile.

"I don't mind," Hermione said. "I'd like it very much if you came along." Lily and James grinned again. They dove into talk about other professors, other students, classes, and quidditch as they walked back upstairs with Hermione and Dumbledore. James beamed at Hermione when she told him that she used to have several friends who played quidditch, a few of them Seekers, but she fell out of touch with them.

"Here we are," Dumbledore said when they finally reached his office. "Marauders," he said with a wink at James and Lily, and the entrance to his office opened. "You'll have noticed in your previous visit to the school, Ms. Granger, that many of the areas in Hogwarts are guarded by various, regularly changing passwords?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes, Sir," Hermione answered more calmly than before.

"Ms. Evans and Mr. Potter are always kept informed of my password," Dumbledore said. "If ever you need to find me, you can ask them for the password."

"Thank you, Professor," Hermione kept her answers simple, as a precaution.

"So, Ms. Granger, if you'll have a seat," Dumbledore said, "I'll wake the sorting hat." Dumbledore went through an archway to an adjacent room. Hermione sat in a chair to one side of Dumbledore's desk. Lily and James stood across from her, quietly bickering about something. Hermione smiled again. They reminded her of her and Ron. Dumbledore returned, speaking quietly with the pointed, patched hat in his hands. Hermione tensed again. How was she supposed to react to the hat?

"The sorting is simple, Ms. Granger," Dumbledore said. "The hat goes on your head and, after some deliberation that only you should hear, the hat will place you in one of the four school houses." Hermione nodded, and Dumbledore lowered the hat onto her head.

'Wait a minute,' the hat spoke in her head, 'you've been sorted into Gryffindor before—'

' _No, I haven't_ ,' Hermione thought back at the hat in a panic. ' _I HAVEN'T!_ '

'Whatever your secret is, Hermione Granger, it's safe with me,' the hat replied in her mind. 'I'll just do my job. You've made it easy enough…'

"Gryffindor!" The hat said aloud to the room. Lily and James cheered and applauded. Dumbledore removed the hat, smiling.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, Ms. Granger," he said. "Your housemates can show you to your new dormitory. You'll get your class schedule in the morning." That statement sparked another unnerving thought for Hermione.

'Oh, no!' She thought. 'I've missed three months of seventh year classes! What if I missed something important?!' Hermione had to abandon that train of thought. Lily and James were walking out of Dumbledore's office with her, towards Gryffindor Tower, and they'd returned to giving their reports about life at Hogwarts. They also questioned her about some of her past, and she told them the story she'd rehearsed with the Snape and Dumbledore from her real time.

Once they'd reached Gryffindor Tower, James broke off to head to the boys' dormitories and Hermione followed Lily up to the seventh-year girls' dormitory. Hermione was surprised to see the three girls already in the room were awake, one of them holding a crying little boy, no older than two, in her lap. Hermione already knew the boy was Bill Weasley.

"You finished your rounds late, Lily." One of the girls was looking at Lily with puffy, tired eyes that were partly covered by her long, straight black hair.

"No, we finished on time, Rinoa," Lily said, "but Professor Dumbledore was bringing our new transfer student, Hermione, in. James and I stayed with them for her sorting. You can see she made Gryffindor." Lily pulled Hermione forward so the sleepy girls could see her better. "Hermione Granger, this is Rinoa Garnet." The dark-haired girl nodded at Hermione. "The one in the back is Alice Warren." The girl Hermione recognized as the future Alice Longbottom waved at her. "And this adorable pair on the left—Molly Weasley and her son, Bill Weasley. Molly's husband, Arthur, graduated last term."

"Arthur normally keeps Bill with him," Molly said wearily, "but he has an interview for a position at the Ministry early in the morning, so I took Bill for the night." Hermione smiled at her boyfriend's future mother, partly to keep herself from crying.

"He's adorable," Hermione said, coming farther forward. "May I hold him?"

"He's really tired now," Molly said. "He might not take to a new face very well, but you can try." Molly helped Bill up, and Hermione lifted him into her arms. He cried harder at first, but Hermione began humming the tune she'd heard the voice of the woman that was supposed to be her mother singing, and his crying ceased quickly. He curled his head into Hermione's neck as she rocked side-to-side and continued the lullaby.

"Wow," Molly said, staring at Hermione with appreciative eyes. "You have a gift. Bill won't stop fussing for many people. He seems to like you, though."

"I think I've heard that song before," Rinoa said. "What is it?"

"I'm not sure," Hermione said. "I think my mother sang it to me when I was a baby. It's all I can remember about her."

"What do you mean?" Alice asked, "What happened to her?"

"I'll tell them if you'd like, Hermione," Lily said. "I think Bill wants to hear more of the song, anyway." Hermione nodded to Lily. Lily told Molly, Alice, and Rinoa the story Hermione had told her and James while Hermione continued to lull Bill to sleep.

"Hermione, I'm so sorry," Alice whispered to Hermione when Lily had finished the story and Bill was asleep, lying beside his mother. "Losing your entire family like that? That's horrible." Hermione wasn't able to blink back the genuine tears that fell from her eyes, not because her father was dead and her mother didn't really know her, as the girls in the room thought, but because those situations did apply to some of their future children. Lily was murdered by Voldemort, along with James, when their son, Harry, was only one year old, and Alice and her future husband couldn't recognize or remember their son, or anyone else for that matter, after being tortured to insanity by Death Eaters.

Lily hugged Hermione briefly before helping her move her cloak and bottomless bag underneath the freshly conjured fifth bed in the room. "You'll be okay here, Hermione," Lily said. "You're going to love Hogwarts."

"I'm sure I will," Hermione said, but as she settled in her bed that night, she used her pillow to muffle her crying. One of the girls she was sharing a dorm with died when she, Hermione, was just a baby. Another one of the girls was as good as dead, confined to St. Mungos. The little boy she'd just put to sleep with a song sung by her fake mother was the groom at the wedding she, Harry, and his youngest brother, Ron, had fled from. How many more people would she meet tomorrow that had terrible futures ahead of them? And she couldn't warn them. The final thought Hermione had as her tear-drowned eyes gave way to sleep was, 'They're all alive! I'm not…'

Breakfast the following morning was sufficiently awkward and intimidating. It seemed everyone was staring at Hermione when she entered the Great Hall with Lily and Molly, after having gone to the Hospital Wing with them to drop Bill off with a very young Madam Pomfrey. Hermione followed Lily and Molly to a cluster of students at the front end of the Gryffindor table. Hermione recognized each one: James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Alice Warren, and Frank Longbottom. Of course, she wasn't supposed to know most of them, so she was introduced by Lily.

Hermione guessed that James had told Frank and the other Marauders her cover story, because not one relating question was asked of her. Instead, there was a lot of talk about quidditch and classes. Hermione tried to engage in some of the conversation, but kept somewhat quiet to avoid saying something she shouldn't.

Mainly, Hermione watched people talking all around her. She couldn't believe how great Sirius and Remus looked. Sirius, not hollowed and paled by twelve years in Azkaban, was absolutely glowing, and quite handsome. Remus, though already physically scarred by the scratches and bites that were self-inflicted from when he transformed into a werewolf, looked happier than she'd ever seen him, and much more lively. Even Pettigrew, who Hermione could barely keep from cursing to pieces for what he had yet to do to his friends, looked more polished and happy, though still awkward.

Hermione looked around the rest of the hall for familiar faces. She saw a couple faces she recognized from the Order, but what really caught her attention was the Slytherin table. She felt her heartbeat jump erratically as her eyes scrolled over Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Black, Bellatrix Black, Rodolphus Lestrange, Rabastan Lestrange, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, Avery, and Macnair. She felt her heart completely skip a beat when her eyes were met by two boys, seated side-by-side, both looking back at her: Severus Snape and Regulus Black.

Hermione looked away quickly and accidentally knocked over her goblet of pumpkin juice. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" She squeaked as pumpkin juice splashed across the table and onto Remus, sitting beside her. She quickly dissolved the mess with a thorough cleansing spell, but she was still blushing furiously. Those around her all wore smiles.

"That's alright, Hermione," Remus said, though his cheeks were also faintly pink as he looked at her. "It's no big deal."

"What I'm interested in is what made you jump like that," Sirius laughed, craning around until he saw Snape and Regulus still looking Hermione's way, laughing at her. "Oh," Sirius said with noticeable disgust, "Regulus and Snivelus—"

" _Severus Snape_ ," Lily corrected coolly. "I thought you guys were going to stop calling him that!"

"We are," James said, all innocence. "Old habits die hard, though. Give us time, Evans."

"Regulus Black is one of a few relatives of mine in Slytherin, my brother," Sirius told Hermione. "He's not as bad as his friends, but he can definitely be a bloody git. Snape, on the other hand, is one of the worst at that table."

"Greasy, dark-arts-obsessed, egotistical, temperamental king of the Slytherin gits," James said harshly. "If Snape ever bothers you, Hermione, you come tell us and we'll put him right."

"Take it easy, Prongs," Remus said with a smile. "He just looked at her. Everyone in this entire hall has done that at least two or three times by now. At least wait until he comes within an arms-length of her before you take a swing at him." Everyone around them laughed.

"You seem like a good enough sort, Hermione," Sirius said. "You might as well know about the Marauders." Sirius dropped the Marauders' Map on the table in front of Hermione. "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good," he said, and tapped the parchment with his wand so that the map Hermione knew all too well filled out before her eyes. As Hermione examined the map, trying her best to fake awe and surprise, James picked up the explanation where Sirius left off.

"We're just some good-natured mischief-makers," he said with an impish glint in his eyes. "That map is our masterwork. I'm Prongs, Sirius is Padfoot, Remus is Moony, and Peter is Wormtail. You see, we chose those nicknames based on our animal forms—we're animagi." Hermione didn't have to fake awe at this point. For one thing, animagus transformation was very advanced, impressive magic that usually takes years to master. For another, she was surprised and flattered by how open James and his friends were with her. Was the Pensive Perfume making them feel close to her?

"I can change into a stag," James continued. "Padfoot's a dog, and Wormtail's a rat…" Hermione noticed James' sudden realization that he'd talked himself into a corner when it came to covering for Remus' darker secret, but Hermione had an idea. It was risky, but she went with it, lowering her voice and leaning in so only their close-knit group could hear her speak.

"And Moony's a werewolf, right?" Frank, Alice, Lily, Molly, and the four Marauders gaped at her. Remus went very pale. "I caught a glimpse of someone who looked like Remus crawling under the Whomping Willow, looking very ill, when I visited the grounds before," Hermione explained with a shrug. "The full moon was coming up that night, and on the map here it shows there's a tunnel off the grounds underneath the Willow. Then there are those scars of yours, Remus. From scratching and biting yourself, right?" Remus just nodded, still wide-eyed and blushing slightly. "It's no big deal," Hermione continued. "Werewolves are just like everyone else. They just had really bad luck one day, when they got bitten. Likely by Fenrir Greyback, the way that monster acts." Remus' eyes somehow widened even further. Hermione frowned, though she'd deliberately mentioned Greyback. "Oh, no," she said, "he bit _you_?" Remus nodded again, still very tense. He relaxed slightly when Hermione's hand touched his. "I'm so sorry," she said. "Were you really young?"

"Nine," Remus answered softly. Hermione looked at the other Marauders.

"Is that why you became animagi?" She asked, still in hushed tones, "To keep him company during full moons, since he would attack humans?"

"Yeah," James said, looking at Hermione with slightly watery eyes. Tears of sadness or joy, it was hard to tell. "Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Madam Pomfrey are the only ones on the staff who know what we did. They help Remus however they can, but they're glad that we can go be with him—in the Shrieking Shack—that's where the tunnel goes. McGonagall actually came with us once, recently. She's an animagus too, a cat." Hermione nodded.

"You all are great friends to each other," she said, biting her tongue to keep from saying, 'except that traitor, Wormtail.' James and Sirius smiled broadly at Hermione. Lily was positively beaming at her.

"You see, Remus," Lily whispered kindly. "More people than you think hold nothing against werewolves."

"Still not many, Lily," Remus said. "Hermione's another special case." Remus smiled at Hermione in a way that melted her heart. If only she could tell him how many people cared so much for him in her time, in spite of his curse.

"And a sharp one, too," Molly chimed in. "The way she figured everything out so quickly? If she's this clever at breakfast, I can't wait to see her in classes."

"If you need a partner in Potions, Hermione, I'll be glad to help out," Sirius said slyly, and everyone laughed again.

"By the way, Hermione," Lily said, "if you don't mind my asking, how did you do on your O.W.L.s?"

"E in Defense Against the Dark Arts," Hermione said, "and O's in all my other classes." Everyone's eyes widened again.

"I saw her first!" James said.

"Actually, I did," Lily said.

"We were there together!" James contested.

While James and Lily continued sparring, and while everyone else laughed, Hermione's heart gradually sank. Among these Gryffindors, she felt so unbelievably peaceful, and she smiled and laughed so much that her cheeks ached, but her mission was to get closer to the Slytherins, particularly Regulus. If she was ever going to get that Horcrux with Regulus within four months, she would have to ration her time with these wonderful people that she longed to become closer to, devoting more time to holding the flicker of attention Snape and Regulus had already given her, and building on it. She had to stay focused. Her performance here would ultimately win or lose the war with Voldemort for her side. She had to remember what the older Snape had told her.

"Choose your battles wisely," she whispered to herself as she followed her year-mates off to her first class.


	11. Attentions

"The diary was destroyed five years ago," Voldemort said as he paced the room in front of his gathered Death Eaters. "The ring is gone. The goblet and glove are gone. The locket is gone. Nagini is all that's left, but she didn't die from a fatal wound. What are we missing?"

"The glove is the only thing that Potter, Weasley, and Granger might have use for," Lucius Malfoy offered. "Perhaps they kept the glove, my Lord?"

"If Dumbledore coached them, they'll know better than to not destroy a Horcrux," Voldemort said dismissively.

"There have been no substantial traces of them since they fled Knockturn Alley," Macnair commented.

"Maybe the Order knows where they are?" Bellatrix offered, "The three of them ran away from the Order, but there was a care package of food in their room in Knockturn. Who would've sent the package but Order members? They must be maintaining some contact."

"Probably anonymous contact, Aunt Bellatrix," Draco said tentatively. "Potter, Granger, and Weasley probably choose new owls every time they contact the Order. The recipients would just send the same owl back to the same location, without ever actually knowing the location."

"You've thought a lot about his, Draco," Snape commented.

"Everyone here already knows the ideas I used to enable the Hogwarts break-in weren't actually my own," Draco said. "They were things Granger came up with that I found out about. It's nothing I'm proud to admit, but Granger _is_ the best in or year at school. Potter and Weasley are more likely to slip up. They're all impulse and action, but Granger's more steady. Trust me, even if Potter and Weasley didn't think of it themselves, Granger will have known better than to set up any kind of traceable contact between the three of them and the Order."

"Very good, Draco," Voldemort drawled, staring at his youngest Death Eater with amusement. "Any contact they've made with the Order will have been discreet. When we have no other leads to follow, however... anything that can help us find and kill Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Harry Potter is of value to us."

* * *

"Ron," Harry said, coming out of the kitchen to meet Ron in the Grangers' living room, "Dumbledore sent a letter. Snape told him Voldemort's getting desperate for us to throw him a bone. They're talking about going after the Order. We have to run a distraction."

"If any of them see us without Hermione, they'll get suspicious," Ron said.

"Of what?" Harry argued, "They know she'd not dead. They're not going to think of anything _close_ to the truth. It'll just confuse them more. That's a good thing, Ron."

"What do we do, then?" Ron conceded.

"Fake another attempt to kill Nagini or something," Harry said. "Make them think we've got no clue about the Horcrux slip-up either. Keep them away from the Order. Make them think they're getting to us. We've got to keep them from looking any deeper into what happened with the locket."

* * *

Hermione's first days of classes were relatively uneventful. She was racking up a lot of house points for Gryffindor. Defense Against the Dark Arts went particularly well. The professor was introducing the class to how to cast Patronuses. When the professor asked the class if anyone had attempted the charm before, Hermione answered by sending her otter Patronus frolicking around the classroom. She won Gryffindor fifty house points in that class. Only Snape, Lily, and James came close to casting a corpeal Patronus during the class period, but they still came up short.

"You only got an E on your O.W.L.s for that subject?!" Sirius vented after they'd left that class. "Did your practical performance judge have a bad encounter with a Memory Modification Charm before he issued scores?"

"I ran out of time before I could do a Patronus demonstration," Hermione said. "I and a couple friends of mine could all cast them in fifth year, but only one of my friends could squeeze it into their exam. They got an O."

"Bloody Hell, you were robbed!" Sirius laughed. Hermione laughed too. She'd come to find, in her first couple days, that she could get away with telling about eighty percent of the truth when asked about her past. As long as she didn't get too particular, or by contrast, disclose so little as to increase curiosity, she wasn't questioned about any minute details that would expose her.

Hermione hadn't really engaged any Slytherins yet, and was glad for it. She had been able to get her bearings by speaking regularly with her Gryffindor friends. She knew being comfortable with her position and knowing what the Pensive Perfume would and wouldn't accommodate for was essential to her success. She took advantage of the warm-up rounds. The real games began that night, when she was walking through an unusually empty library, enjoying looking through some books that were no longer in stock in her time.

"Do you really have to be in here, Granger?" A voice that sounded almost exactly like Draco Malfoy drawled. When Hermione turned around, she saw his father, looking much like his son even though he wore his hair longer. Crabbe and Goyle's fathers were also with him. Hermione bit back a laugh at the dark, surreal humor in her position.

"And why wouldn't I be in here, Malfoy?" She said, "You do realize that studying _is_ a large part of getting good marks in class?"

"Oh, she does know who we are," Goyle laughed.

"Who we are, but not who we can be," Malfoy added threateningly. "Otherwise, she wouldn't be acting so tough."

"Who's acting?" Hermione countered coolly, "Remember, you don't know who I can be either." Hermione glared at each of the boys in front of her before she continued on, even more boldly. "As for who you can be," she spoke harshly, "the Dark Marks on your arms are no threat in and of themselves. They say nothing of skill or power." Malfoy, Goyle, and Crabbe all had their wands drawn in an instant. Hermione had hers out only a fraction of a second behind them. No one attacked.

"How many of us do you know about, you filthy half-blood?" Malfoy growled after a moment. Hermione blinked when he didn't call her Mudblood. Remembering her cover, she glared back.

"All of you," she said coolly. "I'm no fool, Malfoy. I know a dark wizard when I see one. I've dated a Durmstrang. I've met several others."

"A Durmstrang?" Crabbe prodded, more calmly, "Who?"

"Right," Hermione laughed harshly, "switch from threatening me to making small talk, and just expect me to play along?"

"If you've been so close to other dark wizards, why are you threatening us?" Malfoy countered with equal verve.

"They didn't underestimate me," Hermione responded, moving a little closer. "I don't take such an insult lightly. As for your challenge to my blood purity, by the way, you do know that your master is half-blood, don't you?" Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were positively fuming, but Hermione had a gut feeling to press on. "And Snape? Snape is a muggle family. Severus Snape is half-blood too, but he's one of your own, and he receives no venom from you. How am I different?"

"You're friends with Potter, Evans, Sirius Black, and their other friends," Malfoy hissed.

"Among them, that traitor, Peter Pettigrew?" Hermione countered, and she knew she'd delivered the winning blow.

"How do you know about him?" Malfoy hissed, "He's not even marked yet. He's only recently been talking with us about it."

"Like I said," Hermione replied evenly, " _I can tell_." There was a long, tense silence, with the three Slytherins exchanging deathly glares with the Gryffindor. Goyle's glare broke first.

"Was it Karkaroff?" He asked, "The Durmstrang you were with?" Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, but she felt a surge of satisfaction at her clear triumph. His attempt to pry into such a small detail of her argument against them was a sign of desperation to top her.

"No," she said icily. "He graduated six years ago, genius! I was too young!" And Karkaroff wouldn't remember who any of the first year Beauxbatons were during his seventh year, so he couldn't discredit her argument if they asked him about her. With those last words to the Slytherins, Hermione pocketed her wand, knowing they weren't going to attack her, and glared daggers at them once more before storming out of the library. She smiled broadly once she'd put plenty of distance between herself and the Death Eaters. 'That battle was well chosen, and well fought,' she thought to herself, 'and perfectly won.'

Hermione had her first double Potions class the day after her encounter with Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. Some of her Gryffindor friends, true to their word, huddled close to her when Slughorn announced he would be choosing partners who would work together on different potions he needed to restock his stores. Hermione's friends were vying to be paired with her, but Slughorn had other plans.

"I'll need four particularly skilled pairs to brew more difficult potions that I need," he told the class as he assigned partners. "Lupin and Sirius Black, Bellatrix Black and Regulus Black, Evans and Potter, Snape and Granger." Hermione looked at Slughorn, startled. This was her first class with him and he chose her? And to work with Snape? Slughorn was expecting her surprise.

"Castle gossip reaches staff as much as students, Ms. Granger," he said, his eyes twinkling. "Your other professors are singing your praises, and students seem to know of stunning O.W.L. scores, including an O in Potions! I'd be a fool to not take advantage of such talents! You and Mr. Snape can work at the cauldron closest to my desk, go on." As Hermione walked towards the front cauldron and Snape, every other Gryffindor in the room looked ready to throw something at Slughorn. They had quickly become very protective of Hermione, and they watched her as they would watch at a lamb walking toward a wolf.

Snape and Hermione said nothing to each other, even after Slughorn assigned them a very complex potion used for regrowing body parts lost in particularly horrific Splinching accidents. For the most part, they just looked at what the other was doing to know what to do next. They remained that way until Snape pulled out his potions book for a reference. When he opened the book, Hermione recognized the familiar script inside the cover, claiming the book as the property of the Half-Blood Prince. Snape noted her recognition but interpreted it differently.

"Malfoy told me you know about my father," Snape said softly, so only she could hear him. "I assume you know about my mother then?"

"Eileen Prince," Hermione admitted, matching his low volume. "The name in your book says you favor her. Because she's pureblood?"

"That's one reason," Snape also admitted. When he turned to a different part of the book where Hermione recognized the note about the Levicorpus Jinx, she decided to attempt engaging him further. She laughed softly.

"I was wondering who started 'Levicorpus'," she said. "I never saw it at Beauxbatons, and no Durmstrangs I met knew it, but when I came here I started seeing it used everywhere. You invented it?" Snape's mouth curled into the faintest smile at the hint of approval in her voice.

"Levicorpus, and several others," he whispered proudly. He turned to a different page in the book, very deliberately, and Hermione saw the note about the Sectumsempra Curse.

"Sectumsempra," she quietly read aloud. "Sectum? A cutting curse?" Snape nodded.

"Several," he said darkly. "Deep ones, mainly on the torso." Snape watched Hermione carefully as he spoke, watching for her reaction to such a dark revelation. Hermione kept her face smooth.

"That explains why you noted it as being for enemies," she said calmly. "Have you ever _really_ used it, yet?"

"Only once," Snape answered. "No one around here. During a school term, but outside of the grounds." Hermione nodded, struggling to appear unmoved, and she returned to the potion. Snape did the same, not pressing her further. By the end of class, Snape and Hermione turned in a flawless potion to a beaming Slughorn.

Hermione was barely out of the classroom door when James' hand latched onto her arm and dragged her away from the Slytherins waiting outside the door for Snape. Sirius, Remus, Lily, Peter, and Molly all clustered tightly around them as they headed out of the dungeons, forming a wall of flesh between Hermione and the Slytherins.

"We heard Regulus and Bellatrix talking! You didn't tell us you knew they were Death Eaters!" James finally spoke once the group had broken away from the stream of students going into the Great Hall for dinner and stepped outside onto the snow-covered grounds.

"I wasn't sure _you_ all knew," Hermione lied. "I didn't want to worry you unnecessarily."

"Hermione, we're all joining a group that Dumbledore's forming just for fighting the Death Eaters and Voldemort," Lily said. "He's calling it the Order of the Phoenix."

"We heard Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle almost attacked you in the library," Sirius prodded.

" _Almost_ ," Hermione repeated. "I was able to handle it. I'm not as new to fighting dark wizards as you may think." The four Marauders, Lily, and Molly frowned at Hermione for a long pause, looking a little anxious.

"We saw you and Snape talking," Remus said after a moment. "What was he saying to you? Was he threatening you, too?"

"No," Hermione answered. "We were just arguing about part of the potion."

"You're lying to us, now," James said, making Hermione tense slightly, "but we won't push you. Just promise if Snape _really_ tries anything, you will tell us?"

"I promise," Hermione answered.

* * *

"Up here," Ron whispered over his shoulder to Harry. "This looks like the place Snape described in the letter. Doesn't look like it could be their main hideout, though. It's too small."

"Finding their main hideout so easily would cause too much suspicion," Harry whispered as he came up beside Ron and looked down at the small, weathered log cabin in front of them. "Finding this place in the middle of this huge forest is a feat in itself. If we found their main base so easily, right after their decision to track down the Order, they'd smell a rat. They might uncover Snape. We don't have to actually do significant damage to make them think we tried. We're just trying to shake them, not provoking them." Ron nodded his understanding. He looked from Harry to the wooden cabin and back again.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" He asked Harry.

"They have to know it was us," Harry said. "That _has_ to be clear."

* * *

"WHAT HAPPENED HERE?!" Voldemort shouted over the noise made by Death Eaters blasting through the mass of rubble that used to be one of their hideouts, looking for anything they could salvage. Voldemort had just arrived on the scene and was livid at the sight.

"A controlled fire, my Lord," Macnair called from amongst the rubble. "Lots of fire damage, but it stops less than a foot beyond the original perimeter. Not even one tree singed."

"My Lord!" Bellatrix called out suddenly, "You won't believe this!" Voldemort hurried down to where most of the Death Eaters were gathered around a large area of land they'd cleared of rubble. The ground was still black with ashes, but a strip of lush green grass rose from it, unharmed by the flames. Only when Voldemort reached the cleared area did he see the shape the unharmed grass formed: A lightning bolt.

"They were here," Voldemort seethed. "SEARCH EVERY PIECE OF DEBRIS FOR ANY OTHER TRACE OF THEM!" The Death Eaters sprang apart as though the boom in Voldemort's voice had been an actual explosion and they began their search.

"Could they be looking for Nagini again, my Lord?" Bellatrix asked Voldemort cautiously, "Maybe they found the Horcrux they missed? Maybe—"

"Footprints!"

A few Death Eaters were standing farther up in the trees, on a steep hill. They were squatted down low, examining the ground. "Only two sets," one of them called. "Larger, male prints with a lot of weight on the heel, not made by Granger. Potter and Weasley did this alone!"

"Maybe Granger died destroying the missed Horcrux?" Bellatrix finished her train of thought.

"Granger's not dead," Voldemort said without hesitation. "She's doing something else." Voldemort turned and faced Bellatrix for the first time before he continued. "Gather a team and find out what."


	12. The Slug Club, Again

"Ms. Granger, a word?" Slughorn stopped Hermione in the halls as she headed, without her usual Gryffindor companions, to her morning Arithmancy class.

"Yes, Professor?" Hermione said as she moved off the side of the hallway to speak with him.

"Did Ms. Evans or Mr. Potter happen to mention the Slug Club to you?" Slughorn asked her. Hermione bit back the first response that came to mind: 'Which Mr. Potter?'

"No, Professor," Hermione responded. "What is it?"

"Oh, just a little club I created for some of Hogwarts' most promising, gifted students," Slughorn gushed. "Lily and James are two students who have joined. All the young Black family members are involved too, including your friend, Sirius. You'll probably recognize even more students if you come to our meetings."

"You're asking me to join, Sir?" Hermione asked.

"Of course!" Slughorn said, astounded that she'd asked. "Really, Ms. Granger, why so modest? You've been here just under two weeks and you're at the top of all your classes and the biggest point-winner in your house! You belong in the Slug Club amongst the schools other great students!"

"I suppose I could come, then," Hermione conceded.

"Excellent!" Slughorn said, beaming. "We meet on Friday evenings, after dinner, in my office. You can come right up with your housemates, tonight."

"Yes, Sir," Hermione said. "I should get to class, now."

"Oh, yes," Slughorn responded, "of course. I've kept you much too long. I'll see you tonight, Hermione."

'Well, he's using my first name now,' Hermione thought as she hurried to Arithmancy. 'He kept me too long, and he's trying to keep me longer.'

"Well, it took Slughorn long enough," Sirius laughed when Hermione told her friends about his invitation at dinner.

"Sirius, my second class with him is in two days," Hermione reminded him, laughing along.

"Slughorn keeps his Slug Club radar on constantly, Hermione," James responded. "We were surprised he didn't pick you up before your first class with him." Hermione just smiled. She _was_ first inducted into the Slug Club after her first class with Slughorn in her time.

When Hermione, Lily, James, and Sirius arrived together at Slughorn's office, all the other students Slughorn had collected were already there. Professor McGonagall and Professor Kettleburn, the Care of Magical Creatures teacher, were also wandering the room.

"Ah, Hermione, Lily," Slughorn called more loudly than necessary, "just the two ladies I was waiting for. Join me in my stores for a moment, will you?" Hermione and Lily excused themselves from James and Sirius and weaved through the other students in the room, following Slughorn to his stores. They were both a little surprised when Professor McGonagall followed close behind them.

"Do you ladies recognize this potion?" Slughorn asked Hermione and Lily once they were in his stores, handing them a large bottle. Hermione opened the bottle so she and Lily could see the actual solution more clearly, but Hermione recognized the smell immediately.

"Polyjuice Potion," she answered quickly, "but it looks too thin."

"It is too thin for immediate use," Slughorn responded. "It needs to be stored a little longer to concentrate. Well observed, Hermione. Have you brewed this potion before?"

"Yes, Sir," Hermione answered. She couldn't think of any reason why admitting to having made Polyjuice Potion could cause a problem.

"Brewed for one?" Slughorn prodded.

"Three, Sir," Hermione answered.

"Three?" Slughorn asked, impressed. "And in what year did you perform this feat?" Hermione hesitated. "Oh, not that modesty of yours again," Slughorn laughed. "Don't be shy. Was it your sixth year? Fifth?" Hermione shook her head.

"Surely not your fourth year?" McGonagall chimed in. Hermione stared at her briefly. The McGonagall in her time actually did know the truth.

"Second," Hermione finally answered.

"Second year?!" Slughorn said, stunned. McGonagall was staring at Hermione like she'd never seen a thing quite like her. Lily was beaming at her.

"Hermione!" She squealed, hugging Hermione fiercely. "That's incredible! Merlin, you're no witch to be taken lightly!"

"Indeed!" Slughorn agreed. "I was right in requesting your help."

"With what, Sir?" Hermione asked once Lily had released her.

"Oh, that's right," Slughorn laughed, "I haven't asked you, yet. I was hoping I could convince the two of you to use this potion, when it's ready, to transform into each other for a demonstration in class on Monday?" Hermione and Lily exchanged looks.

"I suppose I could," Hermione answered, seeing no reason not to. After all, she'd still be wearing the pin and watch. She'd just have Lily's physical appearance.

"A chance to transform into a witch like this one for an hour?" Lily said, "Of course I'm in!" Hermione blushed slightly. Lily really was a brilliant witch, herself. For her to say such a thing was quite a compliment.

"And does your Head of House consent?" Slughorn asked, looking over at McGonagall.

"As long as they remain with you, in your classroom, until they change back to their true selves," McGonagall said, "yes, I will give my consent."

"They won't leave my sight, Professor McGonagall," Slughorn assured her with a broad grin. As he and McGonagall continued speaking, Lily and Hermione rejoined the other Slug Club students. Lily went straight over to James and Sirius, to tell them about Slughorn's request. Hermione hung back a little, taking the opportunity to examine the crowd in the room more carefully. She didn't see the two girls right behind her.

"You actually agreed to transform into a Mudblood?" Bellatrix Black sneered. Hermione spun around to see her and her younger sister, Narcissa, giggling wickedly. "At least we know not to bother with a Cruciatus Curse," Bellatrix continued more softly. "You're too masochistic."

"Aren't we all, Bella?" A boy's voice asked from behind Hermione. She turned again and her breath stopped. It was Regulus Black. He said something else to Bellatrix and Narcissa, but it didn't register to Hermione. She was stunned by the surprisingly warm, gentle tone of Regulus' voice. Like Sirius, he was also very handsome. His dark, curly hair was a little shorter than Sirius', but very similar. His eyes were deep-set and a captivating emerald green color. Regulus was tall, too. He was closer in height to Remus than Sirius, and he stood a good eight inches taller than Hermione. When Regulus' eyes suddenly connected with Hermione's, her senses jumped back to working order.

"… Part of the job description, you see, to tolerate a lot of pain," Regulus said to her. "It's kind of necessary."

"Need help proving that?" Sirius growled as though in his animal form, coming up behind Regulus with James and Lily flanking him.

"Should we at least warn the bystanders to clear the room, first?" Bellatrix taunted, stepping forward to Regulus' position.

" _That won't be necessary, Ms. Black_!" McGonagall said, quickly striding forward and stepping between the Slytherins and Gryffindors. "There will be no such display here! Fifty points each from Slytherin and Gryffindor! Potter, Evans, Granger, and Sirius Black, come with me now!" The four Gryffindors followed McGonagall, as instructed. Once they had followed her out of Slughorn's office and up to her own office, she rounded on them.

" _Any_ such display with the marked students here at school is risky enough," she spoke vehemently, "but getting an innocent classmate involved?! You should be more careful—"

"I know about the Order, Professor," Hermione interjected in defense of her friends. "And I confronted some of the Death Eaters on my own, before tonight. Don't blame them, Professor. They were just trying to protect me."

"You know about the Order and the students who became Death Eaters?" McGonagall repeated, somewhat unnerved.

"We told her about the Order, Professor," Lily confessed. "The three of us, Remus, Peter, and Molly told her about it. She figured everything else out herself."

"Really, _everything_." James said. "In her first couple days here, she singled out the Death Eaters, she knew about the passage under the Willow before we showed her the Map, and she worked out Remus' furry little problem and took no issue with it. We figured, quick as she is to catch on to things, we'd just save her the trouble and tell her about the Order." McGonagall frowned at James, Lily, and Sirius, but she nodded.

"You really are an extraordinary young woman, Ms. Granger," she said, smiling wearily at Hermione. Hermione returned a similar smile.

"Thank you, Professor," she said.

Hermione hadn't tested the two-way mirrors, yet. She chose to do so when everyone else went to Hogsmeade on Saturday. She pulled out the mirror, alone in her dormitory, and focused all her thoughts on Harry and Ron. The mirror clouded over and, a moment later, she could see part of Godric Gryffindor's sword, among other objects. The other mirror was in Harry's bottomless bag.

"Harry?" Hermione called loudly, "Ron? Is anyone there?"

"Hermione?!" She heard Ron's voice call out. "Harry, the mirror!" Fingers touched the glass in Hermione's view. There was a flurry of shadows, then she saw Harry and Ron's faces, barely an inch apart, looking back at her. "Hermione, you're okay! Well, you _are_ okay, right?!" Ron babbled.

"Yes, I'm fine," Hermione said, though her eyes were quickly welling up as she looked at her true, living friends, "are you?"

"Fine," Harry answered. "We had to run a little diversion to keep attention off the Order, but no harm done to us. How's the plan going? Have you met our parents? Sirius? Remus?" Harry's voice grew more anxious with every word.

"Yes, Harry, I've made friends with all but Ron's dad," Hermione said, tears beginning to fall down her face. "He graduated last year, so we haven't met, but I did see Bill. Harry, Ron, they've all been so wonderful to me. They've already trusted me with their involvement in the whole Marauders scheme, and in the Order that they're just beginning to form. They know I know about Remus' werewolf curse, too. I'm still in Gryffindor, by the way, and winning lots of points for the house. A _lot_ of things we practiced with the D.A., in fifth year, are just being covered in some classes now! McGonagall knows that I know about the Death Eaters, The Order, and Remus, so Dumbledore probably knows, too. Oh, and I'm in the Slug Club again."

"What?!" Ron said, "You haven't even been there for two full weeks!"

"What about Regulus?" Harry asked more urgently, "Snape? Any of the Death Eaters?"

"I've met Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Snape, Bellatrix, Narcissa, and Regulus fairly closely," Hermione answered, also becoming more business focused. "They already know I know which students are Death Eaters. Snape also knows I know about his Half-Blood Prince title and his spells. He actually showed me his Levicorpus and Sectumsempra notes, himself. I think I'm really starting to catch their interest."

"And Regulus?" Ron pressed her, "You said you met him. What did you say?"

"Nothing, actually," Hermione admitted. "He came up and spoke to me in the Slug Club, but Sirius, James, and Lily interrupted, then Professor McGonagall came over to break things up and I couldn't really talk to him."

"Oh, no," Ron said, frustrated. "Why'd they interrupt you?"

"Because they're just like you two!" Hermione half-laughed, trying to ease their tension as well as hers, "Ron, do you remember what happened the first time Draco called me Mudblood in front of you?" Ron's ears flushed red.

"Yeah," he admitted.

"Your and Harry's parents, Remus, and Sirius are just as protective," Hermione said. "I just have to find a way to meet Regulus or some of the other Death Eaters alone, so I can actually talk to them for more than a minute."

"Okay," Harry said. "Just be careful. How are your classes going? Are you at the top of the year in that time too?"

"Yes," Hermione admitted, blushing slightly, "along with your mother and father. They really are amazing people, Harry. You're a lot like both of them, in different ways. Lily and I are actually changing into each other in a couple days, in Slughorn's class, for a Polyjuice Potion demonstration." Harry smiled, though he looked pained as well. Hermione was about to say more to him when she heard voices in the stairwell.

"Harry, Ron, I have to go!" She said, "Someone's coming!"

"Okay, bye Hermione. Be careful!" Harry and Ron said together.

"I will," Hermione whispered as the voices drew closer. "I'll get back to you soon!" With that, Hermione threw her mirror into her bottomless bag and shoved the bag back under her bed.

* * *

"So, you've heard from Hermione?" Dumbledore asked Harry and Ron. He and Snape were both back inside the Grangers' house to exchange updates with the boys, face-to-face.

"Yes, she contacted us through the mirrors a few days ago," Harry answered. He and Ron proceeded to summarize what their conversation with Hermione had covered. When they repeated Hermione's comment about the Polyjuice Potion demonstration, they were abruptly cut off.

"WHAT?!" Snape shouted, jumping up from his seat. "SHE CAN'T!"

"Why not?" Ron asked anxiously.

"THE PENSIVE PERFUME!" Snape bawled, "IT WILL STAY ON HER WHEN SHE CHANGES INTO LILY! I may not remember her, but I remember that class! Slughorn and the other students will be sitting far enough away, but Lily will be close enough to Granger to sense the potion on herself! She will figure out the cover story isn't real! You have to stop Granger before she takes that potion!"

"How?" Harry asked. "The class is today and we can't be the ones to contact her through the mirrors. Anyone could hear us!" Snape and Dumbledore exchanged alarmed looks, knowing Harry was right. They could do nothing to prevent the slip.

"Let's hope Hermione really has gotten close enough to Lily that she'll tell no one else what she discovers," Dumbledore said wearily.

* * *

"Now, class, the transformation can be unpleasant," Slughorn explained as he poured Polyjuice Potion into two goblets and handed them to Hermione and Lily where they stood, at the front of the classroom. "Thankfully, Ms. Granger has already experienced it before, and Ms. Evans has a high tolerance to such pains. Ladies, please extract your hairs and put them in the goblets, exchange goblets, take a deep breath, and drink up." Hermione and Lily both broke off a couple strands of their hair and placed them into the goblets they held. They exchanged goblets, and the bracing glances. They drank the potion quickly. They promptly dropped the goblets and gripped each other's hands instead, as their stomachs protested the treatment in no uncertain terms. Hermione watched Lily's long red hair curl and turn light brown. The girls had to release each other as their bodies shifted and transformed. Soon they were staring at themselves through each other's eyes. Most of the class applauded, Slughorn clapping the loudest of all.

"Well done, ladies," he said before proceeding to point out to the class how each girl remained in her own clothes. He also had each girl describe how the transformation felt, calling the class' attention to how their voices did not change either. Slughorn had Lily and Hermione sit at the front of the classroom to take their own notes, so the class could continue to observe them throughout the full class period.

Hermione noticed Lily looking at her more frequently and strangely than she could make sense of, but she assumed Lily was just very uncomfortable with the body exchange. Hermione also noticed Lily was writing very little in her notes, as though she was confused about what to write. That worried Hermione even more. Lily always took very thorough, articulate, detailed notes. Toward the end of the class, when the effects of the potion had faded and they had returned to their true forms, Lily's unusual behavior continued. If anything, she seemed even more confused, even disturbed, but she remained silent.

"Hermione?" She finally said as they filed out of class with the other students, "Could we talk? Alone?"

"Sure," Hermione said, and she followed Lily to an empty girls' bathroom where Lily immediately locked the door behind them and put a sound ward on the room. Hermione stared at her inquiringly.

"Hermione," Lily said, "when we changed into each other, I picked up on something I know wasn't a side-effect of the Polyjuice Potion."

"What?" Hermione asked, nervous, but still confused by Lily's behavior.

"I was looking at you, as me, and I saw _myself_ as a half-blood witch, transferred here from Beauxbatons, with a pureblood mother I never knew and a father named Inness Granger. the latter dead after a car crash." Hermione's stomach lurched so violently she thought it would break through her flesh and fall to the floor.

"L-Lily, I…" Hermione was desperately pleading with herself to come up with a good defense, but no solution came.

"You aren't who you've been saying you are, are you?" Lily asked, staring at Hermione with hurt in her eyes, "You have some kind of spell on you to cover up the truth, don't you?" Hermione gulped. She was trapped.

"I'm no one you have to fear, Lily," she whispered. "Even though I did lie about where I came from, using a potion you sensed on me, you really can trust me. I can tell you the truth, but you probably won't believe it."

"I believe I can still trust you, Hermione," Lily said. "I do, but I want to know the whole truth. Try me."

"The potion I'm wearing will wear off in six hours," Hermione said. "Things I say will make more sense, then. Could you _please_ keep quiet until I talk to you then, Lily? Please?" Hermione's pleading eyes held Lily's, desperately, until Lily nodded.

"Come with me on my rounds, tonight," Lily said. "James has to go out to the Whomping Willow with Remus and the other Marauders. It's a full moon tonight." Hermione nodded.

Hermione and Lily were seated on a bench on top of the Astronomy Tower, looking down at the familiar animagi running about the grounds. Lily looked sick and she was crying heavily. Hermione told her everything. Starting with what Harry had described to her, about the night when Voldemort had killed Lily and James Potter, Hermione had summarized her story from the beginning: Meeting Harry and Ron, the struggle for the Sorcerer's Stone, the reopening of the Chamber of Secrets, Sirius' imprisonment in Azkaban and the revelation of Peter's betrayal, the Triwizard Tournament, Voldemort's reincarnation, the campaign against Harry, the formation of Dumbledore's Army, Dumbledore's believed death, disproven by his appearance with Snape and the tale of Narcissa's sacrifice... Hermione poured her heart out, confessing every detail. Finally, she explained the Garus Glitch and revealed the reason for all the secrecy: Her own mission to destroy the final Horcrux with the help of Regulus Black.

Lily sniffed loudly when Hermione reached inside her bottomless bag and pulled out a picture of herself, Harry, and Ron, taken by Colin Creevey in their fifth year, when they'd formed Dumbledore's Army. "He looks just like James," she whispered, watching her fifteen year old son in the picture. He was teaching other students how cast a Patronus.

"Except the eyes," Hermione said through her own tears. "He has your eyes." Lily let out a particularly heavy sob at that comment. She grabbed Hermione and hugged her tightly, as though she never wanted to let her go.

"You're amazing, Hermione," she said. "You, Harry, and Ron are all incredible. I love you all, you know. I do here, and I do in your real time, watching over all of you, always…"

"You have no idea just how many people love and miss you," Hermione sniffed. "After all, you're the one who really made our fight possible. When you died for Harry you saved him, and you gave us all a chance." Lily cried even harder.

"I'll help keep the others distracted when you have to be with the Death Eaters, with Regulus," she gasped through her ragged breathing. "I won't tell anyone about you unless you ask me to. I promise. Could you do one thing for me, though?" Hermione looked at her inquiringly. "Let me speak to him?"

Hermione nodded and pulled her mirror out of her bag. "Harry," she said once his and Ron's faces had come into view, "there's someone here who wants to speak with you."

"Harry?" Lily whispered tentatively, though her voice was thick with emotion. Harry just stared back at her through the mirror, seemingly dumbstruck. "Um… I… You see, Harry, Hermione and I drank Polyjuice Potion, and when we changed into each other…"

"I know, Mum," Harry choked out. Lily gasped at the name. "Sorry!" Harry was instantly repentant. "I… I wasn't sure what to call you. Er, Lily?"

"No. I mean, it's okay, Harry," Lilly stammered. "You can call me whatever you want. It's fine. I just… I wasn't…"

"We know you found out about Hermione," Ron interceded for mother and son while they collected themselves. He was a little out of the mirror's frame. He angled himself so his face was more visible and he continued, "Snape said you would. Well, he didn't remember it or anything, but he said that would happen, because he knew what the Pensive Perfume would do." Lily and Hermione both nodded their understanding.

"Thanks, Ron," Lily said softly. "Um… Nice to meet you."

"Er, yeah," Ron said uncomfortably. "Nice to meet you, too, Lily. So… Hermione told you all about us, then?"

"Everything," Hermione confirmed. "I thought it best, once she found out…" She trailed off implicitly and Ron nodded mutely.

"Mum?" Harry asked tentatively, after a long pause. "You wanted to talk to me about something?"

"Nothing in particular, really," Lily admitted timidly. "Hermione showed me a picture of you, and I just… I wanted to see you, myself. I just wanted to talk to you, especially since you and I don't…" A soft sob fell from Lily's lips in place of words. Harry's expression was instantly pained and searching, like he wanted to comfort his mother, but words clearly failed him too.

"I'm not really sure what to say to you, Harry," Lily admitted after a moment. "I'm the same age as you right now. I don't… I'm not sure how to navigate this. I mean, I already love you, believe it or not. After what Hermione told me about all of you, it's hard not to, but… Harry, you look so much like James," she added randomly, desperately trying to find something to talk about. You even sound like him."

"That's awkward," Ron blurted, interrupting. "He's just like your boyfriend—"

"Ron!" Hermione cut him off, horrified by his tactlessness.

"You're eyes, though," Harry tried to cover quickly. "Everyone's always going on about that." Lily laughed softly, the blush roused by Ron's comment slowly fading. A single tear escaped her eye and ran down her pink cheek.

"You know Harry," she said slowly, seeming to consider her words carefully, "Molly has a baby now… Bill… She knows what it's like to have a son at our age. I don't, and this is still so different… You and I are the same age right now, but you're my son. It's strange, and yet…" Lily frowned, searching for the right words to express her feelings. Harry, Ron, and Hermione waited patiently. "It seems difficult for Molly and Arthur, sometimes," she finally continued, "but every once in a while I see this look on their faces… I can just _look_ at Molly and see how _fiercely_ she loves her son, and how protective she is of him. Anyone with eyes can see she would give her life for him, just like I do for you…" Lily trailed off again, strangled by emotion. Hermione hugged her while she gasped for breath.

"Mum," Harry began, looking worried, but Lily shook her head.

"It's strange, but I suddenly understand that now," Lily gasped out, tears running freely down her face. "My age or not, just _seeing_ you, and speaking to you… I can only equate it to ducklings imprinting on their mother, but in reverse. What Hermione told me about you made me love you, Harry, but now…" Lily suddenly let out a loud, heart-wrenching sob. "I'm so sorry, Harry!" She burst out, "I'm so sorry I leave you behind so young! I'm sorry I wasn't there to watch you grow, to really be there as your mother, but you _must_ know how much I love you! I'm sorry Voldemort robbed us both of that, but he was a bloody _fool_ for trying!" Lily screamed in anger and agony. Hermione leapt to her feet and cast a sound ward around them. Lily held onto the mirror as she did so, trying to quiet herself.

"Never doubt how much I love you, Harry," Lily continued passionately. "I'm sure James would say the same thing. You're so strong, and brave, and I'm so proud of you, Harry. I'm proud to be your mother." All awkwardness was gone. Lily was radiant with passion and love. Hermione was dumbstruck and staggered by it.

"I'm proud to be your son, Mum," Harry murmured, his voice ragged with his own passion. "You and Dad are heroes in this time, Mum, but I'd be just as proud even if you weren't. You and Dad risked everything to fight for a better, safer world, and you died to save the life of your child. I'm honored to be that child. I'm _honored_ to be the son of James and Lily Potter." Lily blinked, and a somewhat hysterical laugh bubbled forth from her lips. Harry blinked back, confused.

"Just another name-shock, Harry," Lily explained when she collected herself. She calmed visibly and shook her head to clear it. "You know you all just ruined the surprise of the proposal and the pregnancy." Harry, Ron, and Hermione all laughed. Hermione retook her seat next to Lily.

"No we didn't," Hermione said, smiling softly, "not with the Glitch. As soon as I'm gone, you'll forget all of this. I'm sure Prongs proposing will still shock the hell out of you." That brought on another round of laughter from everyone, Lily most of all, but when the laughter died, the moment became painfully bittersweet. No more words were spoken. No one knew what to say. It would all be forgotten, anyway…


	13. Ginny’s Patronus, Draco’s Assignment

"After she found out about Hermione's cover, Hermione just told her everything," Harry explained to Snape and Dumbledore. The two had Apparated over as soon as they received letters from Harry and Ron, telling them of Hermione's second contact. "She promised she wouldn't tell anyone else. She talked with me and Ron for an hour or so, then she and Hermione had to go back to their dorm."

"She did confirm that you were showing unusual interest in Hermione," Ron told Snape. "She said you're always watching her at meals and in classes."

"For all she knows, I'm thinking of how to kill her," Snape said indifferently.

"I doubt it, Severus," Dumbledore said, smiling. "You were never the type to give very much attention to projects you weren't really invested in. You wouldn't focus so intently on someone you cared so little about as to kill." Snape's look of disdain was broken in seconds, when he abruptly clutched his left forearm. "Go, Severus," Dumbledore said, and with a sweep of his cloak, Snape Disapparated.

* * *

"You summoned me, my Lord?" Snape spoke as soon as he Apparated by Voldemort's side.

"You're going to Grimmauld Place with Bellatrix, Draco, and Lucius," Voldemort answered. "Now that the Order has abandoned the place, and Kreacher dismissed, you should be able to break in. Potter owns that house now, so you're going there to search for any clue as to what he, Weasley, and Granger are doing, particularly Granger. I want to know why the inseparable trio separated, and what it was that Granger was doing while the two boys burned the hideout. So far, Bellatrix has found nothing by herself."

"Yes, my Lord," Snape answered. "We'll see what we can find."

* * *

"What is it we're looking for, again, Remus?" Ginny asked. She and Remus were inside Grimmauld Place, searching through some of Sirius' old things.

"A hand mirror," Remus replied. "It's one of two two-way mirrors. I know Harry has the other one. Sirius gave it to him. Since we've lost touch with them through the mail, the other one could help us reach him." Remus and Ginny were searching for just another minute when a thundering boom made them both jump a foot in the air.

"What was that?!" Ginny gasped and she walked out the door of the master bedroom with Remus, wands drawn and held steady. They walked downstairs and through the dining hall, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. A room away, they could see the front door was broken off its hinges. They were proceeding toward it when a startled voice cried out behind them.

"Lupin and Ginny Weasley are here!" Draco called and Lucius, Bellatrix, and Snape ran in through a door under the stairs to flank him.

"Stupefy!" Bellatrix and the two Malfoys cried out simultaneously.

"Expecto Patronum!" Remus shouted and a luminous phoenix darted out of his wand and swept into all three stunners, deflecting them and temporarily blocking Remus and Ginny from the Death Eaters' view. "GINNY, RUN!" Remus shouted and he started to follow Ginny, dashing out of the dining hall, but he stumbled when the moonlight steaming in through the front door fell on him. Remus fell to the ground and, to his and Ginny's horror, he began transforming on the spot. The Death Eaters emerged from the faded shield of Remus' Patronus and aimed their wands at him.

"NO!" Ginny screamed, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" A massive lion erupted from her wand with a booming roar and landed between Remus and the Death Eaters. While the lion ran a distraction, Remus forced himself up, even as his body contracted and continued to transform. He grabbed Ginny's arm, pulling her out the door and across the street, into the trees. He threw her from him and waved his wand through the air just before his body seized up entirely. He rolled into the brush, his transformation complete, just as the Knight Bus dove down to the street. Ginny leapt on the bus.

"Just go!" She screamed and the bus sped off.

* * *

"A phoenix and a lion?" Voldemort asked Snape, Bellatrix, and the two Malfoys, referring to their reports of the two Patronuses conjured in the fight at Grimmauld Place.

"Yes, my Lord," the Death Eaters murmured as one.

"The phoenix will represent Dumbledore," Voldemort thought aloud, "and the lion?"

"Potter," Draco blurted, surprising even himself. Voldemort raised an eyebrow. "Ginny Weasley and Potter were dating last term, at school," Draco continued nervously. "I heard Potter ended it at Dumbledore's funeral."

"To protect her," Voldemort said with a wicked smile, "because he knew she would be targeted. "Bellatrix, you and Lucius continue looking for traces of Granger," he ordered. "Draco, since you clearly know the most about Harry and the young Ms. Weasley's relationship, you can be the one to try to redeem yourself and devise a plan for her capture. I found plenty of uses for the girl five years ago, and I have a few more uses for her yet."

* * *

"Remus!" Ginny cried, running into Remus' arms when he showed up at the Burrow. "You're okay! I was so worried!"

"Yes, I'm okay, Ginny," Remus said, returning her hug. "I'm glad to see you are too. You saved me with your Patronus."

"You saved both of us with yours," Ginny said, smiling up at him gratefully. She was still holding onto Remus and only stepped away when her mother came rushing in from a nearby room to hug him herself.

"Thank you, Remus!" Mrs. Weasley sobbed, "Thank you! You saved her!"

"That's why I came here, Molly," Remus said worriedly. "She may not be as safe as you think."

"What?" Mrs. Weasley said anxiously, "What do you mean?"

"It's her Patronus," Remus said. "If those Death Eaters make the connection—"

"Connection?" Mrs. Weasley asked, confused. Remus frowned at Ginny.

"She doesn't know?" He asked her.

" _Know what_?" Mrs. Weasley asked impatiently.

"I told you most of what happened," Ginny told her mother reluctantly, "but I didn't mention that my Patronus changed…"

"Changed?" Mrs. Weasley prodded anxiously. "Ginny, what is it? What's wrong? Ginny, please tell me!"

"It's Harry, Mum," Ginny said softly. "My Patronus used to be a horse, but now it's a big lion. It's Harry."

"I wouldn't be surprised if Snape and Draco knew Harry and Ginny were together, last term," Remus said, laying a comforting hand on Ginny's shoulder. "Now, if they made the connection with her Patronus, they might pass the word to Voldemort that he could use her to get to Harry." Mrs. Weasley looked sick. She swayed slightly on her feet and Remus leapt forward to steady her and guide her to a chair.

"He might come after Ginny," Mrs. Weasley whispered, her eyes quickly overflowing with tears. She started to speak again, but no words came out. The tense knot in her stomach couldn't be put into words.

"We need to hide her, Molly," Remus said softly. "Maybe we should hide all of you. We need to go talk to Minerva." Mrs. Weasley nodded, still speechless. Ginny sniffed, behind Remus.

"I'm sorry, Mum," she said, staring down at her feet. "I'm sorry I put all of us in even more danger. I just…"

"Can't help who you love?" Mrs. Weasley said, regaining her ability to speak. "You don't need to tell either of us that, Ginny. We both know what that's like, as do your father and many others in the Order." Ginny looked up at her mother with teary eyes. Mrs. Weasley stood up again and moved around Remus to hug her daughter close. "It's not your fault, Ginny."

"I know," Ginny said. "But if Harry gives up whatever he's doing with Ron and Hermione to help me, that will be." Mrs. Weasley pulled away from Ginny and stared at her with watery, inquiring eyes. Remus seemed equally surprised by Ginny's statement. "Voldemort already used me against Harry, before," Ginny continued, surprised by their surprise. "In my first year, when the Chamber of Secrets was reopened? When _I_ opened it, while Riddle possessed me? At first, he just made me attack muggleborns, but when I wrote about Harry in the diary, he took me down into the Chamber as bait for Harry. Harry was almost killed, trying to save me."

"You and everyone else!" Remus said. "Ginny, if you had died down in the Chamber, a teenage Voldemort would've been fully restored _while_ an older Voldemort was still alive! If Harry hadn't come after you, we'd be dealing with two Voldemorts now. Of course, both Harry and Ron wanted to save you, just for the sake of saving you, but they really saved a number of people we can scarcely imagine. You can't blame yourself for _any_ of what happened that year, Ginny. That's only borrowing trouble you don't need." Ginny didn't seem entirely convinced, but she nodded.

"So where are we gonna go," Charlie Weasley asked the group around him. He, Bill, Fleur, Fred, George, Ginny, all stood with their parents inside Remus' house, along with McGonagall, Remus, and Tonks.

"The Shrieking Shack," McGonagall said. "Alastor, Kingsley, and Hagrid are already over there preparing the interior for your use. The exterior, of course, will be left as is, as weathered as it is, to remain inconspicuous. Most of the locals in the area still believe the house is truly haunted, and we know the house has a helpful escape route. Should you be found, and should a sudden evacuation become necessary, you can all escape through the tunnel to the Whomping Willow, onto Hogwarts' grounds. Even though we've closed the school, the various wards on the school still remain—no one can Apparate or Disapparate on the grounds. In the event of an attack, if you flee to the school, anyone who attempts to pursue you can only come from under the Willow or by broom. Either way, you'd be left with the advantage."

* * *

"What?!" Ron said, jumping to his feet. Dumbledore and Snape were with him and Harry at the Grangers'. They hadn't been able to contact Snape for days, but he'd just come to tell them what happened at Grimmauld Place. "They're planning to come after Ginny?! What about the rest of my family?!"

"I saw Alastor, Kingsley, and Hagrid working around the Shrieking Shack," Dumbledore answered. "I expect the Order is going to hide your family there. The location is a good choice. Most are afraid to go near the house and, if any attackers did, your family could escape through the Marauders' route between there and Hogwarts. Harry?" Harry jumped. He'd been staring down at his feet with his fists clenched tightly, barely restraining himself from throwing something. He looked up at Dumbledore wearily.

"At what we thought was your funeral, I broke up with Ginny to protect her," Harry said. "I was trying to prevent her from being targeted, but it happened anyway."

"This isn't your fault, Harry," Dumbledore said firmly. "Nor is it a Ginny's. No one consciously chooses who they fall in love with any more than they consciously choose the form of their Patronus. Both the feeling and the spell can only really come from the heart. They are among the few things the mind has no control over, whatsoever. Nothing you or Ginny could've said to each other could've convinced your hearts of the lie." Harry said nothing. He looked at Ron. Ron stared back at him for a moment before speaking.

"It's alright, Harry," he said with a shrug. "Like you said, you tried to protect her. There was nothing else you could've done. It's the same with me and Hermione now. We finally got together, but now we're not even in the same decade."

"There is, at least, more we can do for those in this present time," Dumbledore said thoughtfully. Harry, Ron, and Snape all looked at him inquiringly. "Harry, send an owl to Minerva. Tell her you, Ron, and Hermione want to meet with her and the rest of the Order at Remus' house, in two days. Severus and I will come with you, but don't tell her that. Don't give away anything in writing. Our explanations must be given in person, and I do mean all of our explanations. You aren't the only one who has suffered from the delusion of being able to protect everyone by leaving them in the dark, Harry. I too have come to find many flaws in that plan. It's time we told our friends the whole truth."


	14. Show of Strength

When Harry and Ron walked into Remus' house, passerby outside might've thought something exploded inside the house. "Harry! Ron!" It was unclear who shouted their names. It was possible that everyone did. Ginny, Mrs. Weasley, Fleur, and Tonks were the first people to collide with the two boys in spine-crushing hugs. Remus wasn't far behind them. Everyone was crying tears of joy and trying to get as close to the two boys as possible.

"Where's Hermione?!" Someone suddenly screamed fearfully. The phrase was quickly echoed by many voices, among other questions, each more panicked than the last.

"What happened?! She's not dead?! Did they take her?! Is she okay?! The letter you sent said she was coming! What's going on?!"

"EVERYONE, CALM DOWN!" Harry shouted over the noise, "HERMIONE'S FINE! YOU HAVE TO CALM DOWN AND LET US EXPLAIN!" The chaos in the house died down quickly and Harry cleared his throat before he spoke again. "Look, we need everyone to give us their wands and sit down, please." Everyone tensed and stared at Harry and Ron suspiciously after he said that. Harry realized his mistake and he and Ron quickly rattled off every distinguishing, little-known fact about themselves that they could think of, to settle the surge of suspicion. Eventually, they won the crowd over and all the Order members and Weasleys handed over their wands and sat down, as requested.

"Now, don't get scared again," Ron said bracingly, "but what's about to happen is necessary—"

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" McGonagall said, starting to stand up again but finding she couldn't move. She opened her mouth to speak again, but whatever she said was drowned out by multiple screams. Snape and Dumbledore had just entered the house, behind Harry and Ron.

"Everyone, please don't panic," Dumbledore said firmly. "I know some of what you're feeling right now. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were very vocal about it when we first revealed ourselves to them, and yet, here we are beside Harry and Ron. As for Hermione, her absence will be explained. Right now, you all must listen to us. There is much that you all need to hear."

* * *

"Hermione, could you come to the Three Broomsticks with me?" Molly asked as she pulled her cloak on over her wooly brown sweater. "Arthur is going to meet me there. I'd like you to meet him. He's bringing Bill, too."

"Alright," Hermione said, "but I can't stay long. Professor Slughorn asked me and Lily to help him make a couple more potions for his stores. He offered twenty house-points per potion, so we couldn't refuse."

"Then we'd better hurry," Molly said, smiling. She led the way out of the dormitories and down to the Entrance Hall. Molly and Hermione kept a brisk pace all the way to Hogsmeade, walking ahead of most of the other students headed there. They walked straight to the Three Broomsticks and opened the doors to be greeted by the sweet smell of butterbeer. A toddler sitting in the corner called out to them.

"Mommy! Hermy!" Hermione laughed. The last time she'd been called 'Hermy' was by Hagrid's brother, Grawp, when he was terrorizing a herd of centaurs, looking for Hagrid. The fact that the baby Bill remembered any part of her name was a heart-melting surprise.

"Hello, Bill," Hermione said to the little boy, once she'd followed Molly over to the table he'd called from. Bill smiled at her and babbled something about singing and pumpkin pasties. The boy's young father, seated beside him, laughed loudly.

"Molly told me Bill stopped crying for you, but talking about sweets with you is serious," Arthur Weasley laughed. "He _really_ likes you."

"Our boy's a good judge of character," Molly said. "Arthur, this is Hermione Granger. Hermione, this is my husband, Arthur Weasley."

"Hermy-mine," Bill said, after hearing Hermione's name again. Hermione laughed again. It had taken Viktor Krum ages to come much closer than that.

"It's great to finally meet you, Hermione," Arthur said. "Molly and Bill have told me a lot about you—"

"Hermy-miney," Bill said, still trying to get Hermione's name right.

"Most of what I've heard coming from Molly, of course," Arthur laughed. "Bill mostly tries to come up with as many ways to say your name as he can."

"Her-money," Bill said loudly. Molly, Arthur, and Hermione all laughed at that attempt.

"He's determined," Hermione said. "That's a good quality to have. Certainly, never discourage it."

"Never," Molly said, smiling broadly at her son. Arthur chose that moment to take a sip of butterbeer. He chose poorly.

"HER-MY-OH-NEE!" Bill yelled. Arthur choked on the sip he'd taken.

"That's right, Bill!" Molly cooed, "Her name is Hermione."

"Her-my-oh-nee," Bill repeated, swinging his arms with each syllable. Hermione beamed at the little boy. Saying her name at his age was no small feat. Then again, this boy was going to grow up to marry a part-veela. While Molly and Arthur cheered their little son, Hermione checked Garus' watch for the time. She was supposed to meet Lily outside Slughorn's office in forty-five minutes. She needed to start heading back to the castle. She said goodbye to Molly, Arthur, and Bill, and she left the Three Broomsticks and started up the road out of Hogsmeade, back to Hogwarts.

Hermione was halfway up the long stretch of road between the main part of the village and the Hogwarts front gates when she heard a cry of pain from a narrow alley to her right. She halted on the spot. "Hello?" She said, "Who's there?" There was no answer, but Hermione heard a girl's muffled scream and she ran toward the alley, drawing her wand. She moved quickly and quietly through the alley until she saw the source of the noise: Lucius Malfoy had Narcissa Black pinned against a wall, one of his hands clamped over her mouth. Macnair and Goyle were standing near him, laughing as Narcissa struggled. Hermione decided she wouldn't be able to make it to her meeting with Slughorn.

"Let her go!" Hermione shouted, stepping into view and aiming her wand at Malfoy.

"This is no business of yours, Granger," Malfoy spat. "Get lost before you get to take her place."

"Go on, then," Hermione said, taking a couple more steps forward, "unless you have a problem with fighting girls who can actually defend themselves. What's the matter, Malfoy? Are you really such a coward that you have to wait to attack a girl until she lets her guard down?" Malfoy glared daggers at Hermione. He glanced back at Narcissa and pushed her away from him.

"Get back to the castle, pet," he said to her as she grabbed her bag off the ground, wincing in pain. "We have business to take care of here." Narcissa rushed out of the alley, saying nothing and leaving Hermione alone with Malfoy, Goyle, and Macnair.

"You think just because you're not as innocent as you let on that you can get away with speaking to me like that, Granger?" Malfoy hissed.

"You have yet to prove otherwise," Hermione said coldly.

"It seems we should," Malfoy growled, raising his wand. Hermione was ready for him.

"Furnunculus!" She yelled. Her spell struck Malfoy full in the face, where he immediately began sprouting large, ugly boils.

"Stupefy!" Macnair shouted, sending a Stunner soaring towards Hermione. She deflected the Stunner with a nonverbal Shield Charm, but she wasn't able to block Goyle's Reductor Curse. It struck her in the chest and knocked her off her feet and into a wall about three feet behind her. As soon as she hit the ground, she rolled to the side to dodge Malfoy's Impediment Curse and conjured her Patronus to deflect Macnair and Goyle's next curses. She pushed herself off the ground just as she heard a voice she wasn't expecting.

"Stupefy!" Molly shouted, charging into the alley. Her Stunner struck Macnair in the chest, sending him hurtling backwards until he landed a few feet away, unconscious on the ground. Goyle aimed his wand at Molly.

"Incarcerous!" Hermione screamed, and ropes appeared out of thin air and wrapped themselves tightly around Goyle, immobilizing him from head to toe. Goyle keeled over, trapped in the ropes, just as Malfoy aimed his wand at Hermione again.

"Expelliarmus!" Molly shouted and Malfoy's wand went flying out of his hand. He made a dive for the wand, but Hermione tackled him. She planted a strong punch just to one side of his nose and felt it break on contact. Malfoy yelled in pain, then he grabbed both of Hermione's arms and rolled over, pinning her to the ground beneath him. He struck her hard across the face just before yet another voice sounded from behind him.

"Stupefy!" Malfoy fell across Hermione, unconscious from the Stunner cast by Arthur Weasley. Arthur and Molly rushed forward and pushed Lucius off Hermione. They each grabbed one of her arms and helped her up. Hermione could feel a throbbing ache across the entire right side of her face, but with the exception of a bleeding lip, she appeared to be okay.

"Hermione, what happened?!" Molly asked worriedly. "You only left us thirty minutes ago!"

"Where's Bill?" Hermione asked, "Is he okay?"

"He's fine, Hermione," Arthur said. "Some friends of ours, Andromeda and Ted Tonks, took him with them to the park to play with their daughter, Nymphadora. What happened here?"

"Narcissa Black," Hermione said. "They were hurting her. I heard her scream from the main road."

"You fought them for Narcissa Black?!" Molly asked incredulously. "Hermione, she's Malfoy's girlfriend! She may not be a Death Eater, and only a fifth year, but she's still a nasty piece of work herself!"

"Not just now, she wasn't," Hermione said as she pressed a handful of snow to her face. "Malfoy had her pinned against the wall! Macnair and Goyle were blocking any escape! Her wand was still in her pocket! They caught her completely defenseless! I had to do something!"

"Like getting backup?!" Molly said exasperatedly, "Hermione, we're forming the Order for a _reason_. It's too dangerous to take on the Death Eaters alone!"

"I know that, Molly," Hermione said, "but I _was_ alone. By the time I could've gone to get more help, they could've _really_ hurt Narcissa. It was me alone, or no one. I know how to defend myself. Narcissa couldn't. I couldn't just leave her." Molly and Arthur stared at Hermione, both of them still looking a little upset, but also impressed. Molly shook her head.

"Where does a girl like you come from, Hermione?" She asked, "Clever, powerful, _and_ defends people who most others would just pass by? Remus was right. You _are_ a special case and, Merlin knows, one we can certainly use around here." Hermione smiled, but winced at the pain of stretching her bleeding lip.

"You need the Hospital Wing," Arthur said. "C'mon, I'll walk up to the castle with you and Molly. Someone is sure to come looking for Malfoy, Macnair, and Goyle, soon."

"Hermione! Malfoy really clubbed you!" Peter Pettigrew groaned as Hermione came out of the Hospital Wing to where he, James, Sirius, Remus, Lily, and Molly were all waiting for her. Madam Pomfrey had easily sealed the cut on her lip, but she was only able to ease the pain of the large bruise that spread from just below Hermione's right cheekbone up to her right eyebrow. "Did Madam Pomfrey question you a lot?"

"No, not at all," Hermione said. "She assumed I'd been in a Death Eater fight, but she didn't pry for details. She just asked me if anyone else involved needed treatment. I told her to keep an eye out for a face full of boils with a broken nose." As much as the group before Hermione had not intended to make light of her situation, they couldn't help but laugh at her comment.

"That is true," Molly admitted. "The others were worse off when we left, especially Malfoy. Hermione probably would've been okay without me and Arthur showing up to help. We just wrapped the fight up faster."

"Did you really go through all of that over Narcissa?" Sirius asked, incredulous. "I mean, yeah, she's my cousin, but worth all that?"

"It's not like I expect anything in return," Hermione shrugged. "She was in trouble because Malfoy was a coward and cornered her when she couldn't defend herself, so I defended her." Hermione, of course, had an even greater reason to protect Narcissa, but she couldn't voice that reason. Only Lily knew what Narcissa did, in Hermione's real time, to save Dumbledore and help Snape, Draco, and Harry.

* * *

"That was Narcissa?" Tonks whispered, stunned. Dumbledore, Snape, Harry, and Ron had finished their extensive explanations of what they'd all been doing since the night Hogwarts was attacked, also mentioning any significant events that led up to it. Tonks was still having trouble grasping the fact that her youngest aunt had sacrificed herself to help their side, and she wasn't the only one. Half the people in the room were crying. Half were in shock. Harry was sitting with Ginny, holding her close as her body shook slightly as she cried. Ron was slightly purple from how tightly his parents were hugging him. Remus was staring at his clenched fists in his lap, his brow furrowed and his eyes glistening. Harry guessed that he was searching his memories from his seventh year for any sign of Hermione, in spite of the fact that the workings of the Garus Glitch had been explained to the entire gathered group, twice.

"So, Lily is the only one of us who knows the truth about Hermione?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"For now," Dumbledore answered. "Eventually, Hermione will have to explain the truth to Regulus as well, but she hasn't come to that yet."

"She has about three months left," Harry said. "So far, she's had trouble getting near enough to Regulus and the other Death Eaters without something going wrong. Everyone is too protective of her."

"Lily's knowledge of the situation should work to Hermione's benefit," Dumbledore said. "Lily can try to keep those of you who are guarding Hermione distracted, while she gets closer to the Death Eaters."

"Meanwhile, everyone in this time needs to lay low and keep quiet," Snape said firmly. "There isn't much that any on us can do until Ms. Granger returns, _if _she returns—"__

____

" _She_ will!" Ron shouted in a burst of anger. "She _will_ return! Stop suggesting that she won't survive! Stop suggesting that she can't do her job! _She can_! _She will_!" The room stood in a tense silence. Everyone, including Snape, certainly hoped Hermione could complete her task. They all trusted and believed in her abilities, but everyone, including Ron and Harry, understood that even the greatest witches and wizards in the world could fail. Hermione was a very gifted, very brave witch, but Hermione could fail.

____


	15. The Connections that Changed Them

"What, a little under a week before Christmas do you feel obligated to play Christmas Angel or something?" Narcissa Black was waiting for Hermione outside her Arithmancy class, where no protective friends would be with her. Narcissa had some small bruises on her neck that her shirt collar mostly covered, and there were some small scratches on her hands, but the signs of damage Hermione still bore were far more noticeable. Hermione stepped around Narcissa and proceeded down the hall, ignoring the young Slytherin girl, but Narcissa followed her.

"You didn't have to do that," Narcissa said. "You didn't have to fight them. Lucius is my boyfriend. The others are my friends." Hermione lengthened her stride slightly, still ignoring Narcissa. She wanted to turn around and slap the girl for calling people who hurt her so badly 'friends'. Sensing that feeling in Hermione, Narcissa changed the course of her questioning.

"What do you expect me to do, then?" She asked. Hermione stopped abruptly and turned to face her.

"Excuse me?" Hermione said coolly.

"You helped me. I'm in debt to you," Narcissa said. "What do you want?" Hermione was really struggling to not slap the pretty fifth year girl in front of her.

"Nothing, Narcissa," Hermione said firmly. "I don't want anything from you. I didn't want those cowards attacking you when you couldn't defend yourself."

"I _can_ defend myself," Narcissa retorted.

"You couldn't, then," Hermione countered. "They caught you off guard."

"No, they didn't!" Narcissa shouted. Hermione blinked.

"What?" Hermione asked, confused. Narcissa suddenly looked uncomfortable.

"They didn't catch me off guard," she said softly. "They're Death Eaters. I don't fight back. I can't fight back." Hermione stared at Narcissa in disbelief.

"You let them hurt you?" Hermione asked, "If they attack you, you just stand there and take it?"

"Don't you dare patronize me!" Narcissa protested. "You may think submission is weak, but amongst Death Eaters and the Dark Lord, it keeps you alive! Fighting them makes you a threat to them, and threats to them get killed!"

"When they're attacking you for no reason?!" Hermione contested, "It's not like Malfoy was ordered to attack you! He was hurting you just because he felt like it!"

"I love him!" Narcissa shouted, furiously blinking back tears that were forming in her eyes, refusing to cry. "I don't care if you don't understand that! Yes, he can be cruel, but I love him and I support him! I support them!" Hermione said nothing. She didn't need to. Narcissa's expression alone spoke volumes. The normally hard-faced young girl let her features betray her lack of conviction in her strongly spoken words. Once Narcissa realized she'd receive no response, she gave Hermione one more angry glare and stormed off.

* * *

Harry, Ron, Remus, and Tonks were all at the Burrow, helping the Weasleys pack up their things to move to the Shrieking Shack. Even Harry's owl, Hedwig, and Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, were being moved along with them. The Weasleys had taken in both pets after Harry, Hermione, and Ron had left them, and both the owl and the cat had taken to their adoptive family very well.

Emotions were still on high as they worked. Before Dumbledore and Snape had left the awkward Order meeting, they had made it clear to all the Order members that Harry and Ron needed to remain in their separate hideout in order to remain as inconspicuous as possible, and to keep as much attention as possible off everyone else. Harry and Ron were going to leave once the packing was done. Every Order member was also instructed to act as though they still believed Dumbledore to be dead and that Snape had killed him, in any situation. Ever since that evening, Mrs. Weasley in particular had become prone to random fits of crying and hugging Harry or any of her own children so tightly that they could barely breathe.

"I still can't believe Hermione is back in our seventh year with us," Mrs. Weasley said to Remus as he helped her load odd items into a particularly large box. Harry, Ron, Tonks, and Ginny were close by, conjuring more boxes to load up. "Tonks, you and Bill were just babies!" Remus almost dropped the Weasleys' strange family-location clock.

"Oh, Remus, I thought we were past that!" Tonks said, accidentally conjuring a pair of socks, instead of a box. "Yes, you're older than I am. So, what? You're a werewolf, I'm a metamorphmagus, and we love each other!" Harry, Ron, and Ginny laughed as Tonks drove her speech home by turning her hair, lips, and cheeks the same blushing pink color. Remus and Molly laughed lightly.

"Age aside," Remus said, "I never expected anyone to really love a werewolf."

"I was worried you'd never let that idea go long enough to let someone in," Molly said. "James, Sirius, and Lily got closer than anyone else did. You just couldn't let people in. Truth be told, Tonks got lucky. You let her in more quickly than any of us expected."

"That's for sure," Mr. Weasley said as he carried a pile of books into the room. "No girl before Tonks ever got such a hold on your guarded heart. How did she pull it off anyway, Remus?"

"I'm not really sure," Remus said, looking over at Tonks. "I think something just felt familiar and safe. That doesn't make sense though, does it?"

* * *

"Remus?" Remus had heard Hermione walking up through the snow before she'd spoken. She had her cloak pulled close around her as she walked up to the edge of the Black Lake, where Remus stood. "Peter, Molly, Frank, and Alice are leaving in a couple days, for winter holiday," she said. "I know Sirius, James, and Lily are staying here at the castle. Are you?"

"Yeah, I've got nowhere else to go," Remus said. "Christmas with a werewolf is a bit of a party-killer for most people."

"Well, it's a gift for others," Hermione said, smiling. Remus gave her a warm smile in return. He might've blushed slightly too, but both his and Hermione's cheeks were already a little pink from the cold.

"Are you staying too?" Remus asked. Hermione nodded.

"Yeah, I've got nowhere else to go," she repeated his answer playfully. "Christmas _without_ a werewolf would be a bit of a party-killer, anyway." Remus laughed lightly.

"I get the point," he said. Hermione laughed. Remus watched her laugh with appreciative eyes. He frowned again when his eyes fell on the fading bruise on her face.

"That bruise is almost gone," he said. Hermione nodded.

"Madam Pomfrey guessed three more days," she said.

"Until the next one?" Remus asked. Hermione frowned at him.

"Even Veritaserum couldn't get that answer out of me," she said. "There is no answer. I can't know for sure, one way or another."

"I suppose none of us can," Remus conceded. "Most of the Death Eaters stay at the castle during the holiday, by the way. That way, the ones that are still underage can dodge the restrictions on magic use."

"And they can all gather together without causing any broad suspicion, if they're gathering on school grounds," Hermione said. Remus nodded.

"Mostly, we keep to our tower and they stay in their dungeon," he said. "And on those occasions when we do intermix, it's rare that at least two professors aren't nearby, ready to intervene if a fight is started."

"And if the fight is between students of the same house?" Hermione asked, though she'd already guessed the answer.

"Not much help for abused girlfriends and Death Eaters low on the food chain," Remus said grimly. "Damage they do to their own is far less noticeable than damage they do to others. You and Narcissa are proof of that. I'm afraid there just aren't that many people with hearts as big as yours. Lily is more like you, too. Both of you are always trying to see the good in people, no matter who they are."

"Sometimes that can be a curse," Hermione said softly, drawing her cloak even closer around her. "It's ironic, really, how trust can cause as much damage as distrust." Hermione's eyes began to well up as she thought of the times she, Harry, Ron, and many other friends of theirs had suffered because of being too quick to trust. Remus gripped her shoulder.

"But distrust, though easier, leaves you all alone," he said. "You'll never truly be alone, because you allow yourself to trust, and others trust in you. Don't ever lose that, Hermione. Don't let that go. It's not a curse. It's a gift." Hermione nodded and smiled up at Remus, then she looked down at her feet. Snow had soaked through her trousers and socks. Remus laughed when he noticed his clothes were similarly saturated. "Let's go back inside," he said. "Some butterbeer by a warm fire will do both of us some good."

* * *

"Bellatrix, have you found any sign of what happened to Granger, yet?" Voldemort asked impatiently, pacing the room restlessly.

"No, my Lord. Forgive me," Bellatrix said softly. "Lucius, Macnair, Rabastan, and Rodolphus have all assisted me in searching for her, but we've found no traces of the girl. We found people who claimed to have glimpsed the two boys in various places during the night, but Granger seems to have vanished entirely." Bellatrix and the other Death Eaters held their breath after she finished speaking, each of them waiting to be struck with a Cruciatus Curse or Legilimency. Voldemort attacked no one. He had stopped pacing and was glaring at the floor, lost in thought.

"She didn't just vanish," he said. "She's doing something that we should be stopping. She's doing something that is of the utmost importance to their mission. Potter and Weasley would separate from her for no less…" Voldemort trailed off as he continued to think of what Hermione Granger might be up to. "Draco, what about Ginny Weasley?" He asked without looking up. Draco shuddered slightly before answering.

"Also missing, my Lord." Voldemort's full attention was instantly on the young Malfoy.

"What do you mean by 'also missing'?" He hissed.

"Snape and I both went to the Weasley home yesterday, to assess the area for invasion, my Lord," Draco answered, "but the home was abandoned."

"Abandoned?" Voldemort prodded.

"Including the family's few material possessions, my Lord," Draco said. "The house was completely empty. The Order must have guessed that we'd come for Ginny. They hid her entire family away."

"And there are no Wormtails among the Order, this time," Snape added with a scathing look at Pettigrew. "No Order member will betray the Weasleys." Voldemort's frustration appeared as white-hot rage that seemed to smoke off his pallid skin. He quickly dismissed his Death Eaters to prevent himself from killing half of them there in that room.

"Snape!" Draco called, separating from his father, aunt, and uncles to follow Snape down a long, dusty hallway in the manor where the Death Eaters hid. Snape did not slow for his pursuer, but lead Draco all the way to a bedroom on the second floor. Once there, Snape cleared several rolls of parchment off one of the beds with a sweep of his wand and stored them in a bag that he promptly kicked underneath the bedside table behind him. Draco stood in the doorway, staring at Snape inquiringly.

"What is it, Draco?" Snape said, staring at Draco in a way that warned him against asking about rolls of parchment he'd stored away.

"What am I supposed to do?" Draco asked. "I've already failed the Dark Lord once, and my father and I are both on thin ice since my mother killed herself. I don't know where to begin looking for the Weasleys, and most of the others are busy looking for Granger, Potter, and Ron Weasley. If I can't come up with something soon, it'll probably cost me my life."

"You are not the only one in the dark, Draco," Snape said evenly. "I told your mother I would protect you the best I could, even beyond my Unbreakable Vow to her, but there is nothing I can do for you right now." Draco frowned at Snape, not because Snape couldn't help him with his assignment, but because of the mention of his mother's attempts to protect him.

"Father told me when my mother last came to see him, in Azkaban, she said she'd already asked me to accept Dumbledore's protection with her," he said. "She hadn't spoken with me at all."

"She probably thought mentioning you in some way might sway your father's opinion," Snape said. "Even before you were born, Narcissa's well-being was never one of Lucius' top priorities. If she wanted him to do anything he didn't want to do, she had to make it seem beneficial to others. Perhaps, that day in Azkaban, she thought she could use his higher regard for you to help her argument."

"You make it sound like my father hated my mother," Draco said disdainfully, frowning at Snape. Snape shook his head.

"No, Draco, he loved her," he said. He gestured for Draco to come in and sit on one of the beds. Draco sat on the edge of the bed that hadn't been covered by the rolls of parchment. Snape sat on the other bed in the room, facing Draco. "He loved her. He was just tactless whenever it came to showing it. You may hear some of the others malign Narcissa for disloyalty to our cause, but all the years she stuck by your father despite of his behavior, it all speaks in her defense. She was tolerant and devoted to Lucius when many of us wanted to hang him from the height of his own arrogance…"

* * *

"Finally that face of yours is a clean canvas. Who gets to paint it next?" Hermione had just emerged from the Hospital Wing with the bruise that Malfoy had given her completely cleared up. Of all the people to be waiting outside the door for her, Snape was among the last she'd expected.

"That depends on their payment," Hermione answered him loftily. "Malfoy got a broken, boil-covered nose for the opportunity. Have you heard someone tossing around a better offer?"

"None so far," Snape said casually, "but give them time. You're quickly becoming quite the commodity, and not just in pieces."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hermione asked. Snape just stared at her with a faint, mocking smile on his face. Hermione glared at him and started to walk past him, down the hall. Right as she came level with him, he threw an arm out to stop her. She halted a half-step from where his hand touched the wall and turned to face him. He towered over her by several inches, but Hermione stared up at him, impassive.

"It means, while Malfoy may want to strangle you for how you humiliated him, some of those laughing at him hold praise for you," Snape answered her briefly disregarded question, "for helping Narcissa and for teaching him a lesson that was far overdue. True, it would have been better learned if the Weasleys hadn't come to your aid, but we hear their intervention was of no real significance."

"We?" Hermione prodded, "You want to be more specific?"

"You know who I mean, Granger," Snape said silkily. Hermione jumped slightly when Snape's free hand slipped something into the pocket of her robes. Her eyes remained on his. "That's the password to one of the older prefects' bathrooms in the castle," Snape continued. "It's on the third floor, down the hall past the Muggle Studies classroom. No one ever uses it anymore, but we meet there on occasion. Come meet with us at seven o'clock, Christmas night, if you really want to know what people who understand your true potential are bidding on you." With that cryptic remark, Snape stepped back from Hermione and stalked off down the hall. Hermione reached inside her pocket and pulled out the note he'd left there. She unfolded it and read the single word it bore.

_Thestrals_


	16. A Regular Hogsmeade Visit

"Lily, Hermione, hurry up!" James called from the bottom of the stairs to the girls dormitories. "We get to Hogsmeade too late and the stores will be a bloody mess!"

"He's right about that," Lily laughed as she zipped up her puffy blue jacket. "It seems like all the last-minute Christmas shoppers come to Hogsmeade on Christmas Eve." Hermione laughed lightly as she buttoned up her own pink corduroy jacket, but seemed tense and preoccupied. Lily knew why. Hermione had told her about her strange encounter with Snape.

"Still not sure if you're going to go tomorrow night?" She asked.

"I probably should," Hermione said. "If I don't, I might lose the best chance I'm going to get to win the Death Eaters' trust. What if it's a trap, though? Snape's interest seemed genuine, but what if he was lying? Narcissa was right about one thing, after all: People the Death Eaters see as threats end up hurt or dead, and I haven't exactly been acting docile. If Snape was lying and I walk into a room packed full of young Death Eaters, there's a good chance I won't walk out." Lily frowned and started to respond, but she was interrupted by the sound of her and Hermione's bags colliding with the door to their room. James, Remus, and Sirius were using Summoning Charms on the bags from downstairs, trying to make the girls come out. Lily and Hermione laughed and grabbed their levitating bags before leaving their dorm to join the boys in the common room.

As the five Gryffindors walked to Hogsmeade, they discussed how they planned to shop for each other. They decided they'd split up for four hours to shop, then they'd meet each other at the Three Broomsticks to get some butterbeers before heading back to Hogwarts. One of the first stores Hermione went to was called Animagi Abloom. The store sold products such as Anti-Hairball Potions, books on how to strengthen your tail, and flea repellants that smelled like various pies. Hermione was trying to decide which flea repellant scent Sirius might prefer when someone else made their own suggestion.

"Sirius always preferred blueberry pie when we were younger," Regulus said, coming up to the flea repellant counter beside Hermione. "He is who you're shopping for, isn't he?" Hermione nodded, once again too stunned by his approaching her to speak. Regulus laughed. "So outspoken around Malfoy and Snape, but the only place I've really heard you speak is in class." Hermione forced a laugh.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about your suggestion," she said. "It's been a couple years, the way I've heard it, since Sirius moved in with the Potters. How can you be so sure of which scent he'll like?" Regulus smiled a little mischievously at Hermione.

"Alright," he said, grabbing the blueberry pie scented repellant and tossing it to the cashier at the front counter, "I'll pay for the blueberry, you choose a different scent, and if Sirius ends up liking the blueberry scent the most, you can pay me back later." Hermione blinked at Regulus. She stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out what he was up to, then she decided to play along.

"Deal," she said, grabbing an apple pie scented repellant and going over to the front counter with Regulus. They each paid for the scent they'd chosen and Hermione stored both repellants in her bottomless bag. Hermione glanced down at Garus' watch.

"How much time do you have left before you need to go meet up with them?" Regulus asked her.

"Three hours," she said.

"Do you have a lot of shopping left to do?" Regulus asked. Still unsure of his intentions, Hermione shook her head.

"I did most of my gift shopping before now," Hermione said. "I still need to find something to send Bill."

"Bill?" Regulus asked, "Molly Weasley's son?" Hermione nodded. "No problem," Regulus said. "I know where my cousin, Andromeda, likes to go to shop for her daughter—"

"Nymphadora Tonks," Hermione finished his explanation. Regulus smiled at her.

"Of course, Molly and Arthur Weasley already told you," he said. "Bill and Nymphadora have been playmates since they were born."

Hermione decided to take Regulus' tip without argument, following him to a large store in the outskirts of Hogsmeade that was brimming with all kinds of interesting magic toys. Hermione was both unnerved and intrigued by Regulus' behavior and had yet to discover its point or purpose. Regulus wandered through the store with her for about an hour, pointing out some of the baby Nymphadora's favorite items before he disclosed any hint of his main reason for having approached her.

"So, Snape said he gave you the password and told you where we're meeting," he said softly, standing close to her to avoid being overheard by the few other customers wandering the store. Hermione nodded. "Are you going to come?" Hermione stared at Regulus for a moment, unsure of what to tell him. He was one of the Death Eaters, after all. She had a gut feeling to be honest with him.

"I'm interested," she said softly, "but only if the invitation is real. How can I be sure I'm not going to walk in there alone, only to be ambushed by all the Death Eaters still attending school?"

"We aren't all going to be there," Regulus clarified. "As you know, Pettigrew went home for the holiday. Lucius went home, too. We all told him to go home, actually. We knew he'd need more time to cool off before seeing you again. We didn't want him to attack you the moment you came through the door because, no, we don't plan to do so. Mainly, we just want to be able to talk to you without interference. As for your hesitation to show up alone, you don't have to. I'll meet you by the stairs near Gryffindor Tower, fifteen minutes before the meeting. I'll take you there." Hermione blinked at Regulus. Technically, there was a chance that he could be lying to her, as well as Snape. Regulus was very different from the young Snape, though. Regulus made no attempt to intimidate her or boast about himself. Hermione trusted him.

"Okay," she said, "I'll come."

* * *

Now that the Order knew Harry and Ron were staying at the Grangers' house, some members couldn't resist sending a couple Christmas gifts to them. The gifts were mainly survival and fighting aids. They received various potions, two backup wands, and two daggers with enough silver embellishments to be lethal to a werewolf, like Fenrir Greyback, if they sliced into a vein.

Harry and Ron hadn't seen Dumbledore or Snape in person since the day they all confronted the Order, but Snape had sent them a short letter telling them about what had been discussed at the Death Eater meeting he'd last attended, also writing about some of what he'd discussed with Draco after the meeting. Harry and Ron were both testing the backup wands the Order had sent them when the sound of Hermione's voice made them both drop the wands simultaneously.

"Ron, Harry, are you there?"

"We're here, Hermione," Harry said, grabbing the mirror that framed Hermione's face off a nearby table. Ron moved close so Hermione could see them both through the mirror.

"Did you tell Snape and Dumbledore about Lily?" Hermione asked.

"We told more than those two," Ron said.

"What?" Hermione asked anxiously, "Who did you tell?"

"Are you sitting down, Hermione?" Harry asked. Hermione nodded and Harry and Ron dove into their explanations about what had transpired since they last spoke with her. They told her about the fight at Grimmauld Place, their reunion with the Order, and the other Weasleys sent into hiding from Voldemort. Hermione's face was covered by her free hand by the time they'd finished their story.

"They all know I'm back here?" She groaned.

"Remus and my mum have been going mad trying to remember you, even though we told them how the Glitch works," Ron said. "We told them, as soon as you return, their past selves will forget you were ever there and their present selves will remember you again."

"By the way, what has been happening in that time, Hermione?" Harry asked her.

"Are the two of _you_ sitting down?" Hermione asked. The two boys exchanged glances and sat down. Hermione took a deep breath and began her own updates and explanations. She told Harry and Ron about meeting Arthur, her fight against Malfoy to help Narcissa, her confrontation with Narcissa, her strange encounters with Snape and Regulus, and the Death Eater meeting she was supposed to attend in a few hours. When she finished, Harry and Ron were staring at her wide-eyed.

"You're going to a Death Eater meeting?" Ron asked anxiously, "On Christmas night?"

"It had to happen at some point, Ron," Hermione said. "I have to get close to Regulus, somehow."

"Hermione, he's _already_ flirting with you!" Ron retorted. Hermione laughed outright.

" _Flirting with me_?" She laughed, "Ron, Regulus Black is not flirting with me!"

"You said he helped pay for a gift you got for Sirius!" Ron argued, "Sirius and Regulus are enemies! Regulus did that for you! Then he practically asked you out on a date!"

"He's _walking_ with me to a _Death Eater meeting_!" Hermione shouted angrily.

"Hermione!" That was Lily's voice. Ron swallowed the retort he was about to deliver to Hermione as he and Harry listened close. "Hermione, I could hear you downstairs!" Lily's voice continued, "Put the mirror away!"

"Harry, Ron, I'll talk to you later," Hermione told them without looking back at them through the mirror. She threw the mirror inside her bottomless bag and all Harry and Ron could see in their mirror was their own reflection. Ron turned to Harry, still looking a little flustered. He opened his mouth to speak, but Harry spoke first.

"Was that really necessary?" He asked. Ron blinked at him. "Ron, Hermione is going into a room full of Death Eaters in a few hours, and you had to start a fight with her?" Ron's flushed, angry face quickly paled again. "Don't push her away, Ron," Harry continued gently. "Too much is resting on how we fight together for us to be fighting with each other."

* * *

"What was that all about?!" Lily asked Hermione after she'd stored her bottomless bag back under her bed.

"Ron and I were acting like you and James," Hermione said. That was explanation enough for Lily. She and James had a tendency to go from cuddling to clashing at the drop of a sickle.

"Who was the first to accuse this time?" She asked, sitting on her bed, facing Hermione.

"Regulus and I were able to talk for a while, in Hogsmeade," Hermione explained. "He offered to take me to the Death Eater meeting tonight, so I don't have to show up there alone. When I told Ron and Harry, Ron said Regulus was flirting with me and that my going down to the meeting with him is as good as a date! Honestly, Ron knows I care about him more than that, but he just gets so jealous and possessive sometimes! Regulus understood my hesitation to go to the meeting alone, so he offered to help me! I mean, the whole reason I'm here is to convince Regulus to help me! What else was I supposed to do?"

"Nothing," Lily answered reassuringly. "You did what you had to do." Hermione nodded, welcoming the support. "So, you are going to the meeting?" Lily asked, "And Regulus is taking you there?" Hermione nodded again and checked Garus' watch.

"I'm supposed to meet him by the stairs closest to our tower portal in a little under three hours," she said. "Can you cover for me with James, Remus, and Sirius?"

"Yes," Lily said. "Remus will be glued to the book I gave him until morning. Sirius will be busy testing those flea repellants you gave him, and when James and I do our rounds, I'll volunteer to check the corridor you'll be in. I'll also ask him to let me use the Marauders' Map tonight, so none of them can see where you are. You'll have your Map with you, right?"

"Yes," Hermione said. "I won't take my entire bag with me, but I'll have the Map and a coin I've bewitched with a Protean Charm. You can take this coin." Hermione tossed a coin to Lily. "I used the same trick when Harry, Ron, and I formed Dumbledore's Army. Keep it in a pocket close to your skin. If I need help, I'll use my coin to signal you, and your coin will instantly feel hot." Lily nodded.

"You'll be okay, Hermione," she said reassuringly. "I'll be up here, awake, when you get back."

Hermione slipped out of the Gryffindor Tower portal twenty minutes before seven o'clock. She checked the Marauders' Map to make sure Filch was a safe distance away, and she saw Regulus coming up the stairs. She cleared off the Map and stuffed it into the pocket of her jeans before proceeding down the hall, toward Regulus. When she reached the stairs, he was waiting for her at the top.

"Last chance to turn back, if you want to," Regulus said to her. "I won't stop you." Hermione shook her head.

"I told you I'm coming," she said. "I'm not backing out now." Regulus smiled at her.

"Then, let's go," he said.

Hermione followed Regulus back downstairs to the third floor. They walked down a long hall, past the Muggle Studies classroom, and approached a large wooden door at the end of the corridor. When they stopped outside the door, Regulus looked at Hermione pointedly. Hermione nodded and faced the door.

"Thestrals," she said clearly. There was a loud clicking noise as the locks on the door retracted. Regulus pushed the door open and led Hermione inside. The enormous bath pool in the middle of the room was filled with strange, swirling mist that glowed with a bright green light. All the young Death Eaters remaining at the castle for the holiday were seated, evenly spaced, around the pool's edge. Snape looked up at Regulus and Hermione first.

"Regulus, take the spot between Macnair and Rabastan," he said. "Granger, between Nott and Rodolphus." Regulus nodded to Hermione in a silent bid for her to do as she was told. Regulus moved to sit in the middle of the large gap between Macnair and Rabastan. Hermione quickly moved to the position she was directed to and she sat on the floor between Nott and Rodolphus. The Death Eaters on either side of her glanced over at her briefly, but said nothing. The next person to speak was Avery, sitting directly across from Hermione, on the other side of the green mist bath.

"Granger, you're here because a number of us believe you have a potential for greatness that cannot be reached by, shall we say, playing by the rules," he said. "You know who we are. You know what we represent, and here you have willingly come to meet with us. That also speaks in your favor. Still, before we choose to take you into our inner circle and help push you toward this greater potential we see in you, we'll need a little more convincing." Hermione maintained unflinching eye contact with Avery as he spoke, keeping her face smooth and calm.

"And how am I meant to convince you?" She asked evenly.

"Have you ever used an Unforgivable Curse?" Rabastan asked her, sitting between Regulus and Avery.

"Once," Hermione answered, her eyes moving sharply from Avery to Rabastan. "Not on another person, though. I used Avada Kedavra when an Oppugno Charm unleashed a swarm of serpions on me. One curse was enough to take out half of them in one blow."

"So nothing _really_ illegal, yet," Macnair commented, "but at least you can use the curse. Have any Unforgivables been used on you?"

"Yes," Hermione answered promptly, "Imperius Curses, while I was training to resist them in my fourth year."

"And that training produced the desired results?" Snape asked. Hermione looked over at him to see he was slowly drawing his wand. He wanted her to prove her statement. Hermione took a deep breath.

"Yes," she answered calmly. "Go ahead and see for yourself." She didn't speak in a challenging tone. She was careful to sound calmly permissive. Snape aimed his wand at her at her invitation.

" _Imperio_ ," he said. 'Jump into the mist,' he spoke in her head.

'No,' Hermione thought back at him.

'Jump into the mist,' Snape's commanded.

'No,' Hermione thought again.

'Jump into the mist!' Snape commanded her once more.

"I won't," Hermione answered aloud and broke free from Snape's curse.

"She didn't move an inch," Rodolphus said from beside her, watching her closely.

"So, the Imperius Curse doesn't effect you," Nott said from her other side. "Have you been hit with a Cruciatus Curse before?" Hermione shook her head. Within the same second, Bellatrix raised her wand.

" _Crucio_!" Hermione fell backwards with a scream. She writhed in pain on the bathroom floor for a couple seconds, then Bellatrix released her from the curse. "Now you have," Bellatrix said, laughing softly with some of the other Death Eaters as Hermione forced herself back up into a sitting position. As she sat up, Hermione clenched her fists so tightly that her fingernails cut her palms, barely restraining herself from retaliating against Bellatrix. Hermione took several deep breaths to calm herself down.

"Anything else I need to do to convince you?" She asked the group evenly.

"Jump into the mist," Snape said. Hermione looked over at him, confused.

"Didn't we already go over this?" She asked. Snape smiled and some of the Death Eaters chucked softly.

"You refused to jump in against your will," Snape said with a shrug. "Jumping in willingly is far more convincing to us." Hermione stared into the strange green mist that filled the bath pool she and the Death Eaters all sat around.

"What is it?" She asked.

"It's Boggart Mist," Regulus answered. "It's produced when a boggart is killed with an Avada Kedavra curse, instead of laughter. Boggart Mist causes hallucinations. You'll be surrounded by visions and sounds of some of your greatest fears while immersed. None of us will see or hear any of it. We'll only see and hear you."

"Jump into the mist and stay in it until we pull you out," Macnair said. Hermione nodded. She stood up and moved forward so her toes went slightly off the edge of the bath pool. She looked at Regulus once more. He nodded once. Hermione mentally braced herself for the effects of the mist and jumped far in, landing in the center of the pool.

Hermione stood in the mist expectantly, feeling it swirl around her and rise above her head. For a moment, she only saw the green glow. The light went out and she was standing in the middle of a dark, barren field. Dementors were flying overhead. She could hear people screaming and she could smell smoke from a fire burning somewhere nearby. She started to move, but tripped over someone lying on the ground. She looked back at the person and her eyes widened. It was Harry. He wasn't just laying there, either. He was dead.

"No!" Hermione gasped, crawling over to Harry and shaking him. "Wake up, Harry! Wake up! Harry!"

"The one with the power to conquer the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…" A voice drawled mockingly. Hermione tensed. She spun around on her knees, but she saw no one. She turned back to Harry to find he was gone. Ron was in his place. He was dead too, and he looked far worse. He was covered in deep scratches and bites, his blood pooling beneath him. He seemed to have been mauled by Greyback, or some other magic beast.

"Young ones always taste the best…" Another voice whispered menacingly and Hermione's stomach turned sickeningly. As tears sprung from her eyes at the sight of Ron's mangled body, she forced herself to stand up and she turned away.

'This isn't real,' she thought to herself. 'This is the mist. This isn't real!'

"Hermione, what happened?" Hermione jumped at the closeness of that voice. She spun around and saw the Dumbledore from her time.

"What do you mean?" She asked softly.

"You didn't get the Horcrux, Hermione," Dumbledore said, looking devastated. "We trusted you to destroy the locket, but you failed. We had a chance to win this war, Hermione, but you ruined it. Harry and Ron are dead. Ginny and Remus are dead too. They died because of you, Hermione. You couldn't complete your task, so they died, and you'll die too. They're coming for you, now…"

"No!" Hermione said, shaking her head, "I didn't fail! I won't fail! This isn't real! You aren't real!" There were flashes of green light all around Hermione. There were more screams. The smell of smoke was suffocating and the fire it came from was burning close enough to make her break out in a sweat. "No!" She screamed, "This isn't real! This won't happen! This isn't real!"

Dumbledore disappeared and the flashes of light around Hermione became the solid green glow from the mist. Hermione felt four strong hands grabbing her and lifting her out of the mist. She let them lay her on the cold, hard bathroom floor. She stayed there with her eyes closed, holding back as many tears as she could.

"Who's Harry?" Regulus' warm, gentle voice asked. He was kneeling beside her. He was one of the two people who had pulled her out of the mist.

"Childhood friend. He was accidentally poisoned," Hermione lied with an ease that surprised her, considering her current state. "I gave him the antidote, but I was too late."

"Was that the failure you were screaming about?" Bellatrix laughed harshly, "Some kid who poisoned himself that you couldn't save?"

"No," Hermione answered wearily. She gave no explanation. No one asked her for one. One of the Death Eaters said something about 'enjoying her performance', but Hermione was too worn out to clearly register anything that was said beyond that point, except three words.

"Let's go, Hermione," Regulus said after most of the talking around Hermione had ceased. Regulus helped her to her feet and guided her out the door of the large bathroom. He'd walked her almost all the way back to Gryffindor Tower when she began thinking clearly again.

"So I did okay, then?" She asked wearily.

"You did great," Regulus said softly. "You're in." As sore as Hermione's body felt, and as much as her mind was still reeling from the Boggart Mist, she felt a surge of triumph flood through her at Regulus' words. She'd done it. She'd made it into the Death Eaters' inner circle. Feeling suddenly giddy, she kept talking quietly with Regulus as they came continually closer to the Gryffindor Tower portal.

"You were right about the blueberry pie scented repellant," she told him. "It is Sirius' favorite. I'll give you the money for it tomorrow."

"No money," Regulus laughed softly in her ear. He was half-carrying Hermione's weakened form and he stood very close. Hermione looked at him inquiringly. The mischievous smile Regulus had worn back in Hogsmeade lit up his face again. "The deal was that you'd pay me back for the tip," he said slyly. "How you'd pay me back wasn't mentioned. I'll get back to you about that, later." With that, Regulus released Hermione and walked off, leaving her standing in front of the portrait that covered the Gryffindor Tower portal, thoroughly perplexed.


	17. The Psychic Centaur

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kuja (coo-jah)

"Draco, still no luck finding the Weasleys?" Draco was walking to his room in the hideout when Pettigrew stopped him in the hall.

"Would I be here now if I knew where they were hiding, Wormtail?" Draco spat irritably. Pettigrew smiled mockingly at Draco.

"You don't remember the other name I went by in my animal form, do you?" He asked. Draco glared at him impatiently. "Scabbers?" Pettigrew continued, "In the twelve years I _lived_ with the Weasleys?" Any irritation or disdain in Draco's expression was gone in a flash.

"What are you getting at?" He asked. Pettigrew gestured for Draco to follow him. Draco went along with the game, intrigued. Once the two had reached Pettigrew's bedroom, Pettigrew turned and locked the door behind them.

"Shortly after I staged my own murder to incriminate Sirius Black, I was picked up, in my animal form, by a magic knockoff vendor," Pettigrew explained to Draco. "They ended up selling me to Molly Weasley. She gave me to her son, Percy. In your first year, Percy got an owl and I was given to Ron, and all the Weasleys at Hogwarts became friends with Harry. In your third year, Sirius, Remus, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, worked out the truth and I ran back to what was left of the Dark Lord at the time." Draco rolled his eyes.

"Great story," he said. "Are we getting to the part that will help me find the Weasleys now?"

"Percy Weasley, Draco," Pettigrew said pointedly, "my first owner in my time as a Weasley pet. In your fourth year, he started working as an assistant to the Minister. He started fighting with his family. By your fifth year, he'd completely estranged his family from himself. He has seen his family only once in the past year, and that was only because Scrimgeour brought him along when he was trying to soften up the Weasleys and Harry. He is still part of the family. Have you tried finding Percy Weasley?" Draco's eyes widened.

"Not yet," he said.

* * *

Ron was staring across the room at the hand mirror on one of the end tables in the living room, tensely waiting for Hermione's voice to come from it. When Harry walked into the room, the tension in Ron snapped. "Why hasn't she contacted us?!" He said, jumping up and pacing the room restlessly. "It's been almost two whole days! What if Snape and Regulus were lying to her?! What did they do to her at that meeting?!"

"Ron, Hermione's smarter than that," Harry said, though not entirely convincingly. "She wouldn't have gone to that meeting if she had even the slightest feeling that it was a trap. Besides, she told us she was going to use the Protean Charm coins, in case she needed help."

"What if they found those coins on her and thought she was trying to get them all caught?!" Ron said in an unusually high octave, "I just _had_ to have a bloody fight with her that night, and she could be dead!"

"Ron? Is that you?" A voice rose from the two-way mirror. Ron jumped and looked over at the mirror.

"That's not Hermione," he said to Harry, then he ran over to the mirror. Harry was right at his heels. They saw Lily's face in the mirror. "What happened?!" Ron asked, "Where's Hermione?! Is she okay?!"

"Yes, she's okay," Lily said softly. "She's down by the Black Lake with some of the Death Eaters now."

"She's with them again?" Harry asked, "So the meeting went well?"

"A goal was achieved," Lily said grimly. Harry and Ron tensed.

"What happened," Ron asked.

"A hazing ritual, by the sound of it," Lily answered in the same grim tone. "Hermione told me she was hit with an Imperius Curse and a Cruciatus Curse, then immersed in a pool of Boggart Mist that gave her horrible hallucinations." Harry and Ron stared through the mirror at Lily, wide-eyed and speechless. "Regulus practically carried her back up here," Lily continued, "but he told her they accepted her. She spent a lot of the time since then resting and recuperating. One of the Death Eaters slipped her a note this morning, telling her to meet them down at the lake this evening." Harry nodded, but Ron was frowning at the girl in the mirror.

"Why didn't Hermione tell us herself?" He asked. "Before she had to go meet them again, I mean." Lily frowned back at Ron.

"I think she was worried you'd get upset with her again," Lily answered honestly. "Now that she's been taken in by the Death Eaters here, she can't afford to go meet with them already upset from fighting with her friends." Though Lily spoke kindly, Ron looked thoroughly ashamed. "She still really cares for you, Ron," Lily said comfortingly. "That hasn't changed. She's not even very upset with you anymore. She's just under a lot of pressure now. She'll contact you again. Just give her a little more time. James and I fight all the time, but just take a look at the person next to you to see how things worked out for us." Ron and Harry both smiled at that comment, then they heard someone calling Lily. She said goodbye to them and the mirror resumed its natural, inconspicuous state.

* * *

When Hermione reached the Black Lake, she was surprised to see only one person waiting for her there: Bellatrix Black. Hermione gripped her wand inside the pocket of her long trench coat.

"Relax, Granger," Bellatrix said. "We're meeting the others in the Dark Forest. One of the centaurs there acts as a recruiter for us, talking with werewolves, vampires, and other centaurs that pass through. Just try to keep up. We wouldn't want you getting lost in there." Bellatrix gave Hermione a wicked smile that said she would love to lose her inside the forest ,then she turned and led Hermione into the trees at a very brisk pace.

Hermione followed Bellatrix closely, smiling inwardly at the thought of how differently Bellatrix would be acting if she knew how many times she, Hermione, had ventured into the Dark Forest before. They went fairly deep into the forest before they came upon a group of nine young wizards speaking with a burly looking centaur with electric blue eyes.

"Ladies, nice of you to join us," Snape drawled from beside the centaur. "Kuja, you'll remember Bellatrix," he said to the centaur, "but you haven't met our new project, Hermione Granger." The centaur, Kuja, moved away from the nine male Death Eaters and trotted over to where the two girls stood. Bellatrix backed away as the centaur circled Hermione as though she were filly for his inspection.

"There's a lot of pain in her," Kuja said in a deep, resonant voice. "She's known more of each joy and sorrow than many of you have. She's clever and strong, but there's a great burden on that bright mind." Kuja stopped in front of Hermione and his piercing eyes locked onto hers before he continued. "Death. She's come close to it several times, and still death follows her closely." Hermione shuddered slightly and a panic rose in her chest at the centaur's insight. His eyes released hers and fell on the bright turquoise otter pin on her jacket. "An otter?" He asked.

"Her Patronus," Macnair answered from among the attentive audience of Death Eaters. Kuja nodded, still looking at Hermione. His thoughtful stare remained on her for another moment before he spoke again.

"Whenever death does finally catch you, Hermione Granger, show it no fear," he said. "As many times as you've evaded it, such an honor is undeserved." The moment Kuja finished speaking to her, he abruptly turned back to the Death Eaters. "The two vampires I was telling you about went chasing after a unicorn just before you arrived here. They will still be wandering the forest somewhere. Keep your eyes open and you will find them." The Death Eaters nodded and Kuja left them, disappearing into the shadows of the forest.

"The way the professors have been enforcing curfew lately, we'll have to hurry and find them if we're going to make this recruit," Rodolphus said, one arm draped around Bellatrix's shoulders.

"We'll split up," Snape said. "Rodolphus, Bellatrix, you two go the way Kuja just went. Nott, Goyle, down the hill to the right. Avery, Crabbe, up the hill to the left. Rabastan, Macnair, down towards the Gray Pond. Regulus, Granger, over by the thestrals' grazing clearing. I'll head in a little deeper along this path. Everyone is responsible for getting themselves back to the castle alive and in one piece. Regulus, be careful with our new girl."

As all the Death Eaters split up into their assigned pairs around her, Hermione made sure her otter pin was secure and checked Garus' watch for the time. Curfew was in three hours. Hermione jumped slightly when Regulus tapped her shoulder.

"Have you ever seen a vampire in person?" He asked her. Hermione nodded. Regulus gestured for Hermione to follow him and he continued speaking to her softly as they walked. "These vampires, Ansil and Stenmun, are infamous for getting overenthusiastic with their attacks. One bite isn't enough for these two. They recently killed a muggle couple. They make themselves too conspicuous, but the Dark Lord hopes they'll act as liaisons." Hermione's stomach turned and she shuddered again. She hadn't heard of these vampires still attacking in her real time. She hoped that was because they no longer existed in her time.

"You looked like you were going to be sick when Kuja was talking about you," Regulus said, looking at Hermione with transparent interest. "He got to you more than any of us did at the Christmas meeting, and that was kind of the point of the meeting."

"Yeah, I figured that much out," Hermione said grimly.

"So, how closely is death following you?" Regulus asked Hermione with an air of compassion that somewhat unbalanced her. She answered him like she might answer a question Harry or Ron asked her, completely at ease.

"Its breath is on the back of my neck," she said. "Back when I was in my first year, it at least walked a few feet behind me, but sometime in the last six years personal space went out the window." Regulus frowned at Hermione.

"I know I'm not going to get much out of you," he said, "but are you up for sharing one encounter?"

"I was attacked by a basilisk once,'" Hermione answered, again with no pretense. "I only ended up petrified."

"A basilisk?" Regulus said incredulously, "You really do have rotten luck. Those things are even rarer than acromantula! Not that I believe encountering a giant spider is much more pleasant than encountering a giant serpent. Hermione?" Hermione had stopped dead in her tracks and looked extremely pale. She had just remembered what lived in the area of the forest Snape had chosen when the Death Eaters split up.

"Regulus, forget the vampires. You have to go get Hagrid, now!" She said, pulling the Marauders' Map out of her jacket pocket without thinking of how Regulus might react. "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good," she said, tapping the parchment with her wand. She and the Death Eaters were off the edge of the map, but she was checking for Hagrid's location. "Hagrid is by the quidditch field! You'll have to hurry!"

"Hermione, why are _you_ using the Marauders' Map?!" Regulus said, startled by her sudden shift in behavior, "And why do we need the half-giant gamekeeper?!"

"There's a whole colony of acromantula in this forest!" Hermione said, "They're out where Snape was headed! He's going to be killed! Hagrid will be his best chance! Trust me! Go and tell him students ran into Aragog!"

"Aragog?" Regulus asked, completely confused.

"JUST GO!" Hermione screamed before she took off through the trees, running deeper into the forest, praying she could reach Snape in time. When she finally saw Snape, two young acromantula were dead at his feet. Hermione rushed down the hill toward him.

"Snape!" She called shrilly, "Snape, we have to get out of here! Those two acromantula aren't the only ones in this part of the forest! A whole colony lives out here!"

"Granger, calm down!" Snape snapped at her, "Two acromantula in this forest is unbelievable. There couldn't be a whole colony here. Where's Regulus?"

"I sent him to get help!" Hermione continued anxiously, "Snape, you don't understand—"

SMACK!

Snape slapped Hermione to stop her hysterics. "Granger, that is enough!"

"Screaming, yes. Tenderizing, no." A raspy voice came from behind a fallen tree a few yards away, making Snape and Hermione jump. Hermione gasped as the particularly enormous spider Harry, Ron, and Hagrid had once described to her crawled up over the brush. Hermione stepped in front of Snape.

"Aragog, stop!" She pleaded, "We're friends of Hagrid's! He's coming to see you tonight! We just came so you could alert the rest of your family!"

"Including the two that are dead by your feet?" The giant spider asked menacingly. "Friends of Hagrid's or not, their two lives for your two lives sounds like a fair trade to me."

"Or the two of us can just take yours!" Snape growled, pushing Hermione aside and raising his wand.

"NO!" Hermione screamed and she deflected Snape's curse. Though Aragog had attempted to kill Harry and Ron too, he was a big part of the reason they'd been able to solve the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets. She had no idea how she'd do it, but she had to keep herself, Snape, and Aragog alive. Her chances of managing that feat shrank exponentially as a veritable army of slightly smaller acromantula surrounded her and Snape.

"Thank you, girl," Aragog said to her. "Perhaps my family can show their gratitude by making sure their first bite kills you quickly, so you don't have to suffer."

"Aragog, please?!" Hermione pleaded shrilly, "Hagrid will be here any minute! He'll bring other food! They don't need to eat us!"

"I believe you, girl," Aragog said, "but my family is starved and humans are our favorite food, by nature. So few of you ever come out here. It's not for me to deny them such a rare delicacy as two young humans when it wanders into their home. I assure you, it will be over quickly."

The mass of giant spiders around Hermione and Snape began to quickly move in on them and Hermione saw only one hope. "Snape, conjure your Patronus!" She shrieked, "Force them away! EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Hermione's Patronus burst out of her wand and the luminous otter rushed at the oncoming acromantula. Hermione could hear Snape trying to conjure his own Patronus, but he was struggling. "Think of how you felt when you caught Remus in the Shrieking Shack!" She shouted to him, keeping an eye on her Patronus. "Think of how you felt after inventing one of your spells! Think of your happiest, most powerful memory, and let it fill you up! You can do this!" When Snape still couldn't produce a corpeal Patronus, Hermione left her otter to run a diversion and turned her wand on him.

" _Legilimens_!" She screamed, focusing all the energy she could on penetrating Snape's mind. She immediately felt his instinctive resistance, but the first memory she saw was powerful enough: Snape's father was unconscious on the floor and Snape was holding his mother close. She was badly bruised all over her body, but she was smiling at her son, thanking him for protecting her. Hermione released Snape from her spell. "Focus on that!" She shouted.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Snape bellowed and an enormous bear erupted out of his wand and joined Hermione's otter, charging down the acromantula.

"ARAGOG, LEAVE 'EM BE!" Hagrid's voice roared from behind them. Snape and Hermione turned around and saw Hagrid carrying the dead body of a massive hippogriff on his back. Regulus was standing next to him, staring at the spectacle before him in stunned disbelief. Hagrid tossed the hippogriff body into the mass of acromantula with all his strength. Unfortunately, he couldn't control his aim well. Hermione and Snape had to dive away from each other to avoid being crushed by the falling carcass.

The acromantula surged forward, toward the hippogriff carcass, and Hermione screamed as some of them ran right over her, though none of them bit her. Hermione's stomach turned when she heard what she thought to be the snapping, grinding sound of the huge spiders biting through the hippogriff's bones, but when she looked up, she saw the overenthusiastic monsters had ripped a large tree free from the ground as they'd flooded forward. The tree fell forward and Hermione screamed again as it crashed down on top of Snape and several acromantula, a couple yards away.

Hermione forced herself up off the ground and fought her way through the mass of spiders feeding on the hippogriff carcass. She fell back to her knees beside the unconscious Snape. The tree had landed across his abdomen, pinning him to the ground and knocking him unconscious, but Hermione could feel a pulse when she checked his wrist. She lowered her head to his chest to see if he was still breathing and yelped when she felt a sharp pain rip into the back of her left shoulder. One of the massive acromantula had crawled on top of the fallen tree trunk and bitten into her skin, its fangs piercing her dangerously close to her neck. The thing was certainly trying to obey Aragog, very nearly making a clean kill-strike. She aimed her wand straight up underneath the spider. "Reducto!" The spider shot upward, so its fangs came cleanly out her flesh. She immediately shot an Impediment Curse at the airborne acromantula and knocked it farther away from her and Snape. She jumped when she heard Aragog call the army of arachnids back and she turned to see Hagrid and Regulus standing next to the acromantula leader. Hermione's stomach plummeted sickeningly when the mass of spiders parted and she saw only the hollow skull of the hippogriff carcass remained. She shuddered at the thought of how that had almost been her and Snape. Hagrid and Regulus rushed toward them.

"Hermione, you were bitten!" Regulus said in a hoarse voice. Hermione realized then that he and Hagrid had both been shouting at the acromantula to leave them alone since they had first arrived on the scene. It had also just occurred to Hermione that her upper back felt very wet and that she was bleeding heavily from where she'd been bitten. Regulus touched his wand gently to the bite marks. "Episkey!" He choked out. The spell didn't completely heal the wound. That spell could only heal minor damage. It shrank the bite marks, the blood loss slowed, and the pain decreased.

"Stand back, you two," Hagrid said. Regulus helped Hermione up and they both stepped back from the fallen tree on top of Snape. Hagrid gripped it with both hands and heaved it upward, rolling it away from Snape. He lifted Snape into his arms far more easily. "Can ye walk alrigh', Hermione?" Hagrid asked, giving her a concerned look.

"I think so," Hermione answered hoarsely.

"Regulus, stay close to her an' keep pressure on tha' bite," Hagrid said. "The venom'll sting for a bit, an' it might make her a li'l wobbly on her feet." Regulus nodded and conjured a thick hand towel that he pressed firmly to the wound on the back of Hermione's left shoulder. He quickly put his wand back in his pocket so he could grip Hermione's other shoulder, supporting her as they began walking out of the forest.

"I've heard a lot about ye, Hermione," Hagrid said as they walked, "from students an' professors. I heard ye know lots of things tha' others can't make sense of. How do ye come to know about Aragog, though?" Hermione tensed. She realized Regulus felt it when the hand that gripped her unharmed shoulder increased pressure slightly in an awkward sort of massage. Hermione fought to focus through the dizziness the acromantula venom was causing, and she decided her best bet was to vocalize her hesitation to disclose the truth.

"I really would tell you if I could, Hagrid," she said softly. "All I can say is that I know a lot about you, too. I know what happened with Aragog when you were in school, but I can't talk about it now, especially not in front of others. What happened is your business. Hagrid?" Hagrid stopped walking for a moment to turn and look down at her, still carrying Snape like the Slytherin boy was as light as a feather. "I know you didn't do it," Hermione said, knowing he would understand that she was talking about the opening of the Chamber of Secrets and Moaning Myrtle's murder. "I know you and Aragog are both innocent." A single, large tear rolled from Hagrid's eyes, down into his tangled beard at her words. He nodded.

"Thanks, Hermione," he said, "fer tha' an' fer not hurtin' Aragog, back there. Let's keep movin'. You an' Snape need the Hospi'al Wing, quick."

"What in Merlin's name happened?!" Madam Pomfrey said, looking scandalized when Hagrid, Hermione, Regulus, and the unconscious form of Snape appeared in the doorway of the Hospital Wing.

"We're not entirely sure," Hermione spoke up quickly. "I found Snape unconscious in the Black Lake, with some kind of charm on him that kept him afloat. I jumped in the lake and swam out to get him, but I got attacked by some grindylows. Their claws stabbed my shoulder pretty badly before I got rid of them. I pulled Snape back on land. That's when Regulus showed up. He used a quick Episkey Charm on me, to slow the bleeding from my shoulder. He saw Hagrid nearby and ran to get him. I'd used an Air-Dry Charm on myself and Snape by the time they got back to us. They helped both of us up here."

Hagrid was staring at Hermione, stunned by her perfectly convincing cover story. Regulus elbowed Hagrid hard, to bring him back to his senses. Hagrid blinked and covered his unease by carrying Snape to a bed. Madam Pomfrey, completely convinced by Hermione's story, ushered her over to another bed on the other side of the room.

Madam Pomfrey chose to keep both students overnight. Hagrid left the Hospital Wing quickly, to avoid accidentally blowing the cover story Hermione had come up with. Regulus remained with Hermione and the unconscious Snape for a few minutes before Madam Pomfrey ushered him out too. Lily and James both came into the Hospital Wing during their rounds, later that night.

"Who did you go pissing off now, Hermione?" James groaned at the sight of her and the unconscious form of Snape, across the room.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Hermione said wearily. James gave her a look, as if to say 'you'd be surprised', but he didn't press her. He and Lily stayed with her for a while before Madam Pomfrey asked them to leave, as well. James got up first and proceeded toward the doors. Hermione gave Lily a look as she left behind him, promising an explanation would be given later.

Once they were gone and Madam Pomfrey had returned to her own, neighboring suite, Hermione grabbed her otter pin off her bedside table and transfigured it back into the Pensive Perfume bottle. She squirted the solution on herself, then she transfigured the bottle back into an otter pin and placed it back onto the bedside table, next to Garus' watch. She stared thoughtfully at both objects until her tired eyes started to give way to sleep. Her last thoughts were of what the centaur, Kuja, had said about how persistent death was in trying to catch her.

"Missed me again," she whispered just before she finally fell asleep.


	18. Blacks and Blondes

"Percy, you said this place had wards on it to repel things like insects and rats, right?" Penelope Clearwater asked Percy Weasley. Percy had recently made enough money, working at the Ministry, to buy a small home which he and his longtime girlfriend could share. The couple had been living in the house for a couple weeks, and the place still needed some repairs. The wards against infestation were among the things in perfect condition.

"Yes, Penny. Why do you ask?" Percy said, puzzled by her look of unease.

"I saw a big rat outside, in the yard," Penelope said. "Actually, it kind of looked like the rat you had at school. Scabbers?" Percy froze.

"Penny, when did you see that rat?" He asked, drawing his wand and looking out the window anxiously.

"Earlier this morning," Penelope said. "What's wrong?"

"Don't you remember our seventh year?" Percy asked, turning to face her, looking very pale. "My brother, Ron, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter found out Scabbers was really Peter Pettigrew—"

"But you didn't believe—"

"Until Sirius Black was murdered inside the Ministry, and we found out Pettigrew was still alive!" Percy snapped. He blinked. When he spoke again, he tried to sound as calm as he could. "Penny, Pettigrew _is_ alive and he's a Death Eater. You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters are looking for _my brother_ , Ron, and his friends. You saw that in the papers. You saw Scabbers earlier, but Scabbers is really Pettigrew." Penelope went even paler than Percy when she realized what was happening.

"What are we going to do?" She whispered, terrified.

"Have you tried to Disapparate recently?" Percy asked. Penelope shook her head. "Try just going from one end of the room to the other," Percy said. "I will too." Penelope and Percy both spun around on the spot. Nothing happened. Percy's stomach plummeted. "They've warded the place so we can't Disapparate out," he said. "Penny, go get the Floo Powder! We have to get out of here! Hurry!" Penelope disappeared into a nearby room and Percy ran to the fireplace to check if he could activate it for Floo travel. Percy breathed a sigh of relief when he found that Floo escape would work. That is, until he heard Penelope's scream.

"Penny?!" He called out to her, tightly gripping his wand. He heard her scream again. "Penny!" Percy rushed in the direction of her scream. When he reached the room, he stopped dead in his tracks:

"Honestly, Weasley, could you be any more predictable?" Draco Malfoy drawled. Beside him, Pettigrew and Macnair were holding a struggling Penelope. Ropes had been conjured around her arms, tying them behind her back. "Four years after you two were Head Boy and Head Girl, and you're still fawning over each other like lovesick puppies?"

"Leave her out of this, Malfoy," Percy said as firmly as he could. "Hurting her isn't going to make Ron, Harry, or Hermione come out of hiding."

"Well, they aren't the ones I was assigned to find, are they?" Draco said. Percy stared at him, confused. Draco laughed harshly. "It's not your little brother we're after, Weasley. It's your sister." Percy blinked.

"Ginny?" He asked, "What do you want with her?"

"That's what happens when you ignore your family, Percy," Pettigrew said tauntingly. "The whole lot of them could be forced into hiding and you wouldn't know the difference. Ginny is Harry's girlfriend, Percy," Pettigrew sneered. "Taking you and your girlfriend might just stir the rest of your family up enough to show themselves, don't you think?" Percy gulped, but he tried to appear as calm as possible.

"All you need is me, then," he said. "You don't need Penny. Just let her go." Draco, Pettigrew, and Macnair laughed. Penelope whimpered.

"We'll be the ones to decide that, Weasley," Draco said. Percy's stomach turned when Macnair raised his wand and pressed the tip of it into Penelope's shoulder. "Clearly, you're not going to know exactly where your family's hiding or what the best way to get their attention will be, but we can at least get an idea of what we're working with."

"Crucio!" Penelope screamed and fell to the floor as Macnair's curse rushed through her. Percy had his wand aimed at Macnair in an instant, but still too late.

"Expelliarmus!" Pettigrew's spell ripped Percy's wand out of his hand. Pettigrew conjured ropes around Percy, binding his limbs together and making him topple to the floor. Macnair knelt on the floor beside Penelope, his curse lifted, and he held her down instead.

"Now, that is what you don't want to do, Weasley," Draco said harshly. "That will just get your girl hurt worse. Cooperate, and she won't have to come to much more harm." Penelope let out a loud sob as Macnair restrained her. Percy felt horribly sick.

"Please don't hurt her," Percy said softly. "I-I'll tell you what I can, but I… I can't. I don't know much. I don't know what you expect me to say…"

"Don't worry, Percy," Pettigrew said mockingly. "Not much talking is going to be necessary. Just don't try to resist."

"Resist what?" Percy whispered, his eyes glistening.

"Legilimency," Draco said triumphantly, "Snape will be here any minute. We sent for him a while ago. He'll be able to find anything of use to us in your mind—"

"Stupefy!" Two voices shouted from behind the Death Eaters. One of the voices shouted the spell twice. Draco, Pettigrew, and Macnair all keeled over, Macnair falling on top of Penelope. Snape quickly rushed forward and pulled him off her. Dumbledore hurried around Snape and Penelope to untie Percy and pull him to his feet. Percy was gaping at both Dumbledore and Snape incredulously. Penelope, too, looked extremely confused and terrified as Snape untied her arms, helping her up and muttering a spell to ease some of the lingering pain from Macnair's Cruciatus Curse. Percy opened his mouth to attempt speech through his shock, but Dumbledore raised a silencing hand.

"Not now, Percy," he said gently. "We'll explain later. Right now, we must get you and Ms. Clearwater to the rest of your family. I'm afraid nowhere else is safe for the two of you anymore."

"Percy!" Mrs. Weasley collided with her son in a bone-crushing hug. "When we got word from Severus that the Death Eaters had found you…" Mrs. Weasley trailed off, too overwhelmed by all the emotions that flooded through her to dare speak what she'd thought her son's fate would be.

"Penelope Clearwater, right?" Mr. Weasley asked, stepping forward to greet the frightened young woman Snape and Dumbledore led into the Shrieking Shack. The girl nodded nervously.

"Macnair had already used a Cruciatus Curse on her by the time we arrived," Dumbledore said to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. "They were more interested in getting information from Percy than really harming him, so Penelope took the brunt of the damage. Both of them should rest first, then they will need to be caught up on what has truly transpired with all of us, and what we expect is still to come. As much as these past few years have distanced them from you, it seems Voldemort and the Death Eaters have lost any patience necessary for discrimination."

"Of course," Mrs. Weasley sniffed. "We'll fit them in here somewhere."

"Already done," Ginny said, coming forward and taking the couple bags of Percy and Penelope's things. "Charlie is moving his things out of Bill and Fleur's room now. He's going to move in with me, Fred, and George. Percy and Penelope can share Bill and Fleur's room." Mrs. Weasley nodded and Ginny led Percy and Penelope upstairs. Mrs. Weasley sniffed again.

"Draco Malfoy was behind this?" She asked bitterly.

"Draco was assigned to the search for all of you, but Wormtail helped him plan this attack," Snape said somewhat defensively. "Draco was assigned to his task as punishment for his mother's believed suicide. He may instruct another Death Eater to torture with the Cruciatus Curse, but he has yet to use one himself, and he still doesn't have it in him to kill. Draco's current position is to your advantage. He won't be able to see it through. The greatest thing you have to fear is that someone else will recognize that fact and take over." Mrs. Weasley and Mr. Weasley both nodded.

"Thank you for your help, Severus," Mr. Weasley said softly. "We know that this was a terrible risk to your cover." Snape nodded to the Weasleys before turning and leaving the Shrieking Shack without a word. Dumbledore said goodbye to the Weasleys and left shortly afterward.

* * *

Almost twenty-four hours after Hermione and Snape were attacked by the acromantula, many of the students who had left the castle for the winter holiday had returned, so they could be at the castle for the New Year's party. Lucius Malfoy, Pettigrew, Molly, Frank, Alice, and Rinoa Garnet were among those who had returned.

Hermione had yet to make contact with Snape or any of the other Death Eaters since the incident. By the time Madam Pomfrey had cleared Hermione to leave the Hospital Wing, Snape had already gone. At dinner that night, he and all the other Death Eaters glanced over at her frequently, but looked away quickly if their eyes met. Hermione assumed Snape and Regulus had explained what had happened to the others. After all, she had only given the true story to Lily, but Pettigrew seemed to also know what had transpired.

"What did Hagrid do when he was in school?" Pettigrew whispered to her while James and Sirius debated loudly and passionately about which quidditch teams were having the best year. "We all know he was expelled as a third-year, but we don't know why. Is that what you were talking with him about?"

"I didn't give any details in front of Regulus. Do you really think I'm going to tell you?" Hermione whispered coolly, "One of the biggest problems about being a traitor to your friends, Peter, is that no one who knows will trust you."

" _Look who's talking_ ," Pettigrew snapped back. Hermione grabbed his left sleeve and jerked it upward. He ripped his arm away from her and moved it under the table.

"No need to ask what _you_ got for Christmas," Hermione said acidly. "I'm associating with my friends' enemies. You _are_ one of their enemies now." Pettigrew glared at Hermione, but he said nothing.

As Hermione walked up to Gryffindor Tower with her friends after dinner, she was surprised to notice Narcissa trying to catch her attention and draw her away from her companions. Hermione pretended that she'd dropped something and excused herself from her Gryffindor friends to double back toward Narcissa. No sooner was Hermione around the corner she'd seen Narcissa disappear behind when her surprise turned to utter shock—Narcissa Black was hugging her.

"Thank you, Gra- Hermione," Narcissa said softly, to avoid being overheard, "for saving Severus from those acromantula." Narcissa released Hermione and stepped back. "You knew how dangerous that entire colony was, but you still went back for him! You were so brave! And you were bitten while protecting him? After the tree fell on him?" Hermione nodded, still too stunned by Narcissa's dramatic shift in behavior to know what to say.

"That's what Regulus told us," Narcissa said, staring at Hermione with surprisingly appreciative, kind eyes. This girl was very different from the one who had been furious with Hermione for protecting her from Lucius. It was then that some understanding came to Hermione: Narcissa really cared for Snape, possibly more than Lucius, not that she'd ever deliberately let anyone know that. Narcissa's loyalty was to Lucius, and for her to suggest otherwise to Lucius or any of his friends could bring her great harm, if not death. Hermione shrugged.

"What else was I supposed to do?" She said, "I knew he wouldn't make it out of there alone, so I went to help. I couldn't knowingly leave someone to die." Narcissa smiled briefly, but then she suddenly looked uncomfortable.

"I should go," she said. "Lucius just got back to the castle, after all. I should be with him." Hermione nodded, wanting to protest but saying nothing. Narcissa turned away and hurried off down the corridor toward the dungeons.

* * *

"How did you manage to lose Percy Weasley when you had him _and_ his girlfriend outnumbered and restrained, alone in their home?" Voldemort hissed and the Death Eaters around him shuddered. Draco looked even paler than usual. Snape took a subtle step forward to shield Draco's body with his own, in case Voldemort lashed out with an Unforgivable or some other painful curse.

"The Order must have arrived at the scene shortly before I did, my Lord," Snape said calmly. "I walked into the room and Draco, Wormtail, and Macnair were all unconscious. Ropes they had conjured were broken and left on the floor. The two targets were both gone, as were some of their belongings, by the look of it. The Order members that came to their rescue must have taken them to join the other Weasleys." Voldemort clenched and unclenched his fists so tightly that his already pallid skin looked almost translucent at the knuckles.

"Lucius," he spoke in a voice that was deadly soft, "you're off the search for Granger, Potter, and Ron Weasley. _You_ are in charge of the search for Ginny Weasley. Draco will continue working the search with you. If you don't find the Weasleys' hideout within two weeks, you'll _both_ be reunited with Narcissa." All the Death Eaters stirred at that threat. While Voldemort frequently used setup assignments or torturous spells as punishments for displeasing him, he rarely threatened them with death. He valued his army of followers too much. To threaten to kill off two of his servants meant he was getting desperate, and when Voldemort was desperate, he was at his most dangerous.

"My Lord," Lucius began tensely, "I—"

" _Two weeks_ , Lucius," Voldemort hissed. "Your family has failed me enough. Fail me again, and I will have no more use for you."

* * *

"Ladies, you look beautiful," Sirius said as Lily, Hermione, Molly, Alice, and Rinoa emerged from the girls' dormitories to head down to the New Year's Eve party with the boys. Dressy muggle attire tended to be the standard fashion for the annual party. All the girls were in pretty dresses and gowns, Hermione in a red dress with just a hint of sparkle.

Arthur had come to the castle for the party that night, leaving Bill in the care of Andromeda and Ted Tonks. He stood amongst the other boys in the common room. Molly darted forward and hugged him fiercely. Alice and Lily joined Frank and James. Rinoa edged around the pack to join Sirius. The couples led the way out of the Gryffindor portal and Hermione, Remus, and Peter filed out behind them.

The usual tables in the Great Hall were replaced by several smaller, round tables which were arranged in clusters around the room, leaving plenty of floor space for dancing and mingling. Perpetual fireworks were going off outside and their colorful light danced across the hall through the bewitched, transparent ceiling. The large pack of Gryffindors made their way over to a group of tables where Hermione recognized several students from the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff quidditch teams, helping themselves to the mass of delicious food which blanketed the tables and laughing joyously. After a few minutes of scattered conversation, Hermione headed over to the butterbeer fountain, near the doors to the Entrance Hall, to get herself a drink. Remus followed her over.

"It's a beautiful night for this party," he said when he and Hermione reached the fountain. "Last year, there was a full moon, so I missed it. Unfortunately, just coming off a full moon phase, I'm too tired to keep up with some of the others." Hermione laughed.

"You hide it well," she said. "Really, you look great tonight."

"So do you," Remus said shyly. "You look beautiful." Hermione smiled warmly and took a step toward Remus to hug him.

"Thanks, Remus," she said. "I'm glad you could be here this year."

"I'm really glad you're here this year," Remus said, hugging her back. Hermione was a little surprised when she started to step back from Remus, only for him to pull her back and hold her for a moment longer. When they finally did separate, Hermione was also a little staggered by how he was looking at her. His kind eyes glowed with even more warmth than usual and he almost seemed to be looking at her as though he…

"Loved your notes on the effects of Felix Felicis, Hermione," Slughorn said genially, coming up behind Hermione and Remus. "The mass duel you described—one spell after another narrowly missing you, friends dueling with expert skill—it was riveting!" Hermione forced a laugh through her discomfort.

"Thank you, Professor," she said, truly thanking him for interrupting the awkward moment between her and Remus. "It was really _by_ pure luck that we had access to such powerful liquid luck at the time."

"And thus, lucky for us all that it helped you survive," Slughorn gushed. "Such a loss would've been a horrible misfortune for all our kind." Hermione smiled and blushed slightly at the echo of some of what Remus had been saying, not to mention the ironic truth to Slughorn's statement, considering her position in the fight against Voldemort. Slughorn beamed back at her, then he turned to Remus.

"Could I borrow you for a moment, Remus?" He said, "Several of your friends have been insisting that I talk with you about possibly joining the Slug Club." Remus nodded and gave Hermione another warm, though nervous smile, before walking with Slughorn toward a cluster of tables where most of the staff was gathered. Hermione smiled timorously back at him before turning on her heel and walking out into the Entrance Hall, heading outside for fresh air that she prayed would clear her head of the unacceptable thoughts that filled it.

"No," she thought aloud to herself as she walked out onto the snowy grounds, too preoccupied to register how cold she was, wandering out there in her dress with no coat or cloak, "this can't be happening! Remus _can't_ feel that way about me! He's just a friend. Truly, my much older friend. He loves _Tonks_! Ron and I _finally_ got together!" Hermione walked all the way down to the Black Lake and glared at the icy water as she continued to mutter to herself, her ramblings becoming continually more incoherent. "He can't… I can't—"

"Possibly be in your right mind, standing out here in just that dress?" Hermione jumped at the sound of Regulus' voice and turned to see him walking up to her. "Not that it isn't a nice view to look at," he continued, "but you must be freezing." Before Hermione could answer, Regulus had pulled off his cloak and swung it around her shoulders. As he fastened the cloak at her front, he touched the turquoise otter pin on the narrow right strap of her dress. "Do you ever take that pin off?" He asked before glancing down at her left wrist, "Or that watch?"

"The pin was the one thing my mother left for me, when she left me and my dad," Hermione lied, "and the watch was a gift from my dad. It was on my bed when I got home, after leaving Beauxbatons to come to Hogwarts. He didn't make it home that day…" Hermione looked down at her feet to emphasize her point, trying to make her story as convincing as possible. It must have worked. She jumped slightly when one of Regulus' hands lifted up her chin. She blinked when she saw how close his face was.

"That's reason enough," Regulus said. He moved still closer and Hermione's stomach turned as she thought he was going to kiss her, but he only hugged her. He hugged her close and snugly. "Warming up yet?" He spoke softly in her ear. Hermione laughed nervously.

"Starting to, yes," she said more breathlessly than intended. She silently scolded herself for her behavior. ' _What are you doing_?!' She thought to herself, 'Remus _and_ Regulus?! You're in this time for a reason! Your boyfriend, Ron, is waiting for you back in your real time, where Remus is over twice your age and Regulus is dead!' Hermione blinked and realized Regulus was still holding her. She pulled away abruptly. Regulus looked at her inquiringly.

"What's wrong?" He asked, "Was I holding too tight?"

"N-No," Hermione stuttered, "not too tight. I-I mean, not—" Regulus' fingers covered Hermione's mouth to stop her babbling.

"Too fast, I get it," he said soothingly. If he was disappointed, he didn't show it. His fingers did leave her lips somewhat reluctantly. "Since you're already out here though, would you come out to the quidditch field with me?" He said, "I want to show you something."

Hermione glanced up toward the castle a little uncomfortably. She blinked when she thought she saw someone watching them. In fact, she could've sworn it was Remus. She blinked, and seeing no one she assumed it had been an illusion from all the firework lights. "As payment for the repellant tip?" Regulus asked. Hermione turned back to him. "Do you really want to start the New Year with a debt hanging over your head?" He added slyly. Hermione stared at him for a moment, considering.

"Alright," she said. She pulled Regulus' cloak a little closer around her as they walked and lifted up the hem so it didn't drag in the snow. After a minute of walking in silence, a question Hermione had been thinking of asking Regulus since the day in Animagi Abloom began to nag at her mind again. Without even realizing she was doing it, she asked him outright. "Why did you become a Death Eater?" Regulus stopped abruptly and turned to stare at her, somewhat staggered. Hermione shrugged. "You just seem too nice to be one of them," she said. Regulus nodded understandingly and kept walking. Hermione walked closely beside him.

"Honestly," Regulus said, "I'm still not entirely sure. Most of the students here that have been my friends since first and second year joined. Then there's my family. They have certain expectations, you see. As you know, Sirius ran away because of them, and as you might not know, Andromeda was essentially disowned for marrying Ted Tonks, a muggle-born." Hermione grimly nodded her understanding while smiling inwardly at Regulus' non-use of the term 'Mudblood'. "As for any other reasoning," he continued, "I plead reckless need for excitement and adventure." Hermione laughed.

"You sound more like Sirius and James now," she said.

"Oh yes," Regulus laughed, "the Marauders. I noticed you used that map of theirs in the forest. They all seem to be very fond of you. If I'd befriended those Gryffindors instead of the Slytherins, and become a Marauder instead of a Death Eater, would I have a better chance with you?" Hermione blinked and smiled nervously.

"No," she said. "I really try to not buy into the house prejudice here, and I really can't pass judgment on a Dark Mark alone." Regulus stopped again and faced Hermione directly. He was looking at her with a mixture of disbelief and amazement. "The Mark shows you are one of their group, not that the group is one person," Hermione said. "You're all different people." Regulus smiled warmly at Hermione. He nodded toward the quidditch field.

"C'mon, it's almost time," he said.

"Time for what?" Hermione asked.

"You'll see," Regulus said, his sly demeanor returning. He quickly led Hermione the rest of the way up to the quidditch field and toward the stairs that went up to one of the top boxes usually reserved for staff and special guests. Hermione halted again.

"Wait a minute," she said. "Why are we going up there?"

"To pay off your debt, remember?" Regulus said distractedly. Hermione started to protest again, but Regulus grabbed her right hand and pulled her forward, up the stairs. When they stepped out into the box, Regulus grabbed her left hand and lifted it up to check Garus' watch for the time. "Two minutes 'til midnight," he said. Still holding both of Hermione's hands, he pulled her down to the front row of the seating box. Still utterly confused by Regulus' behavior, Hermione pulled her hands out of his.

"Regulus, how exactly am I paying you back?" She asked, both nervous and a little frustrated.

"Just by being here," Regulus said, all innocence.

"For what?" Hermione asked impatiently. Regulus pointed back toward the castle. Hermione turned around and gasped at the sight before her. As the countdown to midnight began, twice as many fireworks started going off. From this height and angle, Hermione could see the fireworks reflecting off the smooth surface of Black Lake, bursting in an array of brilliant colors and lights over the castle. The snow on the ground glistened with each flash of light, and the night sky itself was clear and beautiful.

Hermione felt Regulus' arms wrap around her from behind and his chin rested gently on the top of her head, reminding her of how Ron had held her back in the Lion's Den. Part of her felt like she should protest, but she couldn't. Even this far from the castle, she could hear all the people back in the Great Hall as they shouted out the final seconds of the year. "Ten… Nine… Eight... Seven… Six… Five… Four… Three… Two… One…"

"Happy New Year, Hermione," Regulus whispered in her ear. Hermione's eyes welled up so that the fireworks reflected off them like they reflected off the lake.

"Happy New Year, Regulus…"


	19. The War at Home

Hermione blinked her bleary eyes several times when she awoke. She rolled over to see Molly was just waking up too. The two of them were the only girls still in the dormitory. Hermione grabbed Garus' watch and checked the time. It was almost noon on New Year's Day. Hermione remembered what had happened the previous night: After the fireworks had finished at about one o'clock in the morning, Regulus had walked her back up to the castle. She'd given him back his cloak and they'd gone to their house dormitories. Hermione looked back over at Molly.

"You have a late night too?" She asked. Molly nodded.

"I was with Arthur until almost two o'clock," Molly said, blushing in a way that implied she and Arthur had done more than just talk. "You?" She asked. Hermione nodded, but offered no details. Instead, she rolled out of bed and went into the bathroom for a quick bath, grabbing her two-way mirror as she went so she could check in with Harry and Ron. She had no intention of mentioning the New Year's party.

"Lily, can we talk?" Hermione asked Lily pointedly, after she'd spoken with the boys and cleaned up for the day. Lily excused herself from their friends in the common room and went back up to her dormitory with Hermione. She sat on the edge of her bed and looked expectantly at Hermione.

"I just spoke with Harry and Ron again," Hermione said. Lily nodded. Hermione paced the room a little restlessly as she continued. "Percy Weasley and his girlfriend, Penelope Clearwater, were attacked, but Snape and Dumbledore were able to save them and take them to the Shrieking Shack, to the rest of the Weasleys." Lily nodded, but she could easily tell something else was on Hermione's mind. Hermione stared at Lily for a moment before she sat down on her own bed and cut to the chase.

"Have you and James used the word 'love' with each other yet?" She asked. Lily blushed and smiled.

"Actually, we did last night, for the first time," Lily said. "We were watching the fireworks and he just said it—'I love you'—and I said it back." Lily's somewhat giddy look was replaced by a frown as she realized why Hermione was asking her such a question. "Problems with Ron?" She asked. Hermione nodded. "Did you two fight again?" Lily prodded. Hermione shook her head. Lily smiled at Hermione knowingly. "Does this have to do with Remus taking a bit of a fancy to you?" Hermione hid her face in her hands.

"Remus and Regulus," Hermione said softly. Lily laughed lightly.

"So Regulus _has_ been flirting with you," she said.

"Lily, he almost _kissed_ me last night!" Hermione said, flustered and blushing a little. "And Remus is such a good friend to me in _my_ time, I can't stand the thought of hurting him! In my time, he loves Tonks and I'm Ron's girlfriend! What am I supposed to do?!"

"Do you love Ron?" Lily asked calmly.

"I don't know," Hermione said, starting to cry, "I think so? I'm not sure he loves me either. I mean, we finally got together, but we haven't—we've never used the word—"

"Love?" Lily asked. Hermione nodded.

"In my time, Remus is over twice my age and Regulus is dead, so it's not like I see a real relationship with either of them as being remotely possible," Hermione said. "What about Ron, though? If I tell him about Remus and Regulus, he'll be crushed and likely furious with me. If I don't tell him, _I'll_ still feel horrible." Hermione buried her tear-stained face in her hands. "I shouldn't even be letting myself get tangled up in this mess at all. _"I have a job to do_. I can't…"

Lily moved from her bed to Hermione's, sitting next to her and rubbing her back soothingly. "All I can tell you, Hermione, is to get out of your head sometimes and listen to your heart," Lily said. "That's what I had to do. Remus and Regulus or not, you can't make yourself love someone. If you and Ron are meant to be more than friends, you'll know it. If you don't know if you love him now, you might know later. Just don't force it. Do what you have to do here, and when you get back to your time, to Ron, maybe you'll know then." Hermione looked at Lily with watery eyes and nodded.

* * *

"Draco, we are not leaving this room until you have told me everything you know about any of the Weasleys that may be of even the slightest help in catching Potter's little blood-traitor girlfriend!" Lucius spat impatiently. He, Pettigrew, and Draco were gathered in one of the larger bedrooms in the manor where the Death Eaters hid.

 _"_ I already have, Father," Draco said defensively. "Every relationship any of them had at school, places where the group called Dumbledore's Army met, on the grounds and off, the locations of some of the best customers at the twins' shop. I even told you what their owls look like, in detail!"

"On that subject," Pettigrew added, "I'd also expect Harry and Hermione's pets are with the Weasleys too. Harry's owl, Hedwig, is a brighter bird than any of the Weasleys own owls, and more noticeable, being a snowy owl."

"And your animal archenemy, Granger's cat?" Lucius asked with a mocking smirk.

"Crookshanks," Pettigrew grumbled, glaring at Lucius, "is remarkably like his owner. Lots of hair, meddlesome, and annoyingly clever. The cat's ginger fur is more reflective of the Weasleys, and its face suggests that it might've once been thrown headlong into a brick wall." Draco laughed quietly, but he quickly silenced himself when his father glared at him. Lucius opened his mouth to scold Draco when there was a knock at the bedroom door.

"What is it?" Lucius snapped at the person on the other side of the door.

"Does this cat have a bottlebrush tail and a disturbingly acute talent for distinguishing animagi and werewolves from other humans and animals?" A voice grumbled impassively from behind the locked door. Pettigrew's eyes widened.

"Yes," he answered, quickly unlocking and opening the door for Fenrir Greyback.

"That cat has to be the one non-human target I've ever bothered chasing after," Greyback said disdainfully. "I've run into it a couple times before. The first time was the summer after they had the Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts. I was in Bulgaria at the time, with an eye on one of the Durmstrang fifth-year boys. My target happened to be with some of his friends when I was first able to spot him away from school or his home. Incidentally, Viktor Krum was among them. Krum had a girl with him too. I never got a good look at her, but she had a cat with her, just like the one you were describing. In fact, I heard the girl call it 'Crookshanks'."

"Krum invited Granger to visit him in Bulgaria after the tournament," Draco chimed in. "They were dating at the time."

"That cat of hers noticed me standing nearby, and it hissed at me… I got the strangest sense that I could hear its thoughts, for a moment: 'You're the werewolf that bit Lupin.' Then it jumped on top of the boy I was targeting and scratched the hell out of his face. The girl shouted at the cat and grabbed him off the boy, but the cat had already done enough damage to the kid that another one of the boys there took him home. That cat _knew_ what I was, even when I was in my human form, _and_ who I was targeting, and it attacked the kid to keep him away from me."

"You got lucky," Pettigrew said grimly. "That cat tried to kill me. He was helping Sirius try to catch me. He would occasionally run around with Remus too, after he'd transformed. That's probably why he knew you bit Remus."

"You said you ran into the cat more than once, Greyback?" Lucius prodded, searching impatiently for the point of Greyback's story. "And chased it before?"

"About a week after you ran into the Weasley girl and Lupin, after the full moon ended, I changed back into my human form and found myself in the thestrals' grazing clearing in the Dark Forest, outside Hogwarts. Imagine my surprise when I saw the same cat I'd seen in Bulgaria running around with the thestrals." Pettigrew and the two Malfoys were staring at Greyback intensely, knowing the sighting he was describing would have been shortly after the Weasleys went into hiding.

"And when you chased after the cat?" Lucius asked hungrily, "Where did it go?" Greyback grinned wickedly at the Malfoys and Pettigrew.

"The Shrieking Shack," he said.

* * *

"Harry, we got a letter from Snape and Dumbledore," Ron said, coming to meet Harry in the kitchen for breakfast. "They said we really need to lay low for a few days, no letters or anything. The other Death Eaters have been acting really weird—really sketchy, like some of them are up to something that they're trying to keep from the others. Until Snape can figure out what's going on, they've told the Order to be extra careful too." Harry nodded a little distractedly. It had been about a week since Hermione had contacted them, but he kept thinking that something dodgy seemed to be happening with her as well, something that she was trying to underplay to him and Ron. The mention of Snape made him think of something she had mentioned.

"I guess writing back to Snape about how Hermione saved his life is out of the question," he said. Ron snorted.

"Guess so," he said.

* * *

"Hermione, are you okay?" Lily asked as she walked out of Charms class with Hermione. "You looked like something was really bothering you during class."

"I don't know what it is, honestly," Hermione said, still looking preoccupied and worried. "I just keep feeling like something is really wrong."

"Maybe you need to talk to Harry and Ron again?" Lily asked quietly, as they walked down to the Great Hall. "It's been about ten days, hasn't it?" Hermione nodded distractedly. "Or maybe you're just catching a cold? Molly was really sick this morning. She almost missed Transfiguration, she was so nauseated. Actually, I don't think she was able to keep her breakfast down, poor thing." Hermione nodded.

"I should go ask Madam Pomfrey for some strong Vitaserum, I suppose," Hermione said. "That might help. Let's just go to dinner now."

* * *

The moonlight was reflecting off Ginny's slightly damp hair as she stared out the window. She thought nothing of how Crookshanks ran into the room and leapt into her lap. Crookshanks loved the smell of the soap she liked to use in the bath. Crookshanks batted at Ginny's face with his paws, but she just pushed his paws away and stroked his back. He began making angry meowing and hissing noises and Ginny finally took notice.

"Crookshanks, what's wrong?" She asked, "Are you missing Hermione again?" The cat stared at Ginny, then leapt pointedly up onto the windowsill. Ginny stood up and moved closer to the window, her eyes narrowing as she strained to look as far out into the darkness as she could. She saw nothing, but then there was a sudden flash of red light. She dove to the floor and Crookshanks jumped down on top of her as the Stunner shattered the glass. Ginny let out a loud scream Moments later, both of her parents burst into the room. Another jet of red light shot through the broken window and Mrs. Weasley screamed too.

Mr. Weasley dove forward, ducking under the window, and he took Crookshanks' place covering Ginny. "Molly, get the other kids, quickly!" He shouted, "Open the Marauders' path to the school! They've found us!" Mrs. Weasley rushed back out of the room, Crookshanks following her, and she started screaming to her children, Fleur, and Penelope that they were under attack. Mr. Weasley helped Ginny into a crawling position and pushed her forward, continually whispering to her. "It's going to be okay. You'll be okay…"

Ginny and her father ran downstairs, where the rest of her family and Penelope were already waiting. Ginny collided with her mother, sobbing, "Don't let them take me! Don't let them kill me! Please!" Mrs. Weasley was sobbing too. She clutched her daughter tightly in her arms and tried to reassure her.

"We planned all this out, Ginny, remember?" She said, "We know what to do. I already signaled the Order, Dumbledore, Ron, and Harry, with the Protean Charm coins. They'll come and help us. We have to get to Hogwarts now…"

"There's a small chance some of the Death Eaters might've already flown to the Willow, to come through the tunnel and cut us off," Mr. Weasley said to the group, "so those at the back and the front be ready to fight! Ginny, you stay in the middle. Let's go, everyone! Hurry!" Mr. Weasley, Fred, and George jumped down into the tunnel just as another jet of red light smashed another window on the other side of the room. Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, Penelope, and Fleur all jumped in next. Bill, Charlie, and Percy brought up the rear.

Their group ran through the low-ceilinged tunnel as fast as they could, their pajamas and bathrobes occasionally snagging on rocks protruding from the walls and tearing. Their owls and Hedwig followed their passage, flying along at the level of their shoulders. Crookshanks was running at the front of the pack, ready to pounce on anyone and anything that blocked their passage. They could all hear more crashes and blasts sounding behind them as the Death Eaters destroyed the Shrieking Shack.

As soon as Bill, Charlie, and Percy had scrambled out from under the Whomping Willow's roots, they immediately unfroze the attacking branches that Crookshanks had halted by pressing the knot on the trunk that Sirius had once shown him. Only Pettigrew could safely freeze the tree again; any other humans that tried to crawl out of the roots would quickly be beaten to a bloody pulp. That issue taken care of, they just had to watch for attackers coming by broom or thestral. Sure enough, out in the distance, a large mass of airborne Death Eaters could be seen flying toward them.

The Weasleys and Penelope all fired Stunners into the mass of oncoming enemies, but stopped when the cluster of Death Eaters was torn through by allies. Harry, Ron, Kingsley, Tonks, Moody, Remus, McGonagall, and a few other Order members all flew into the airborne fray that resembled a very violent quidditch match. In fact, bludgers and beaters' clubs really were involved, carried by Remus and Tonks. The flying wizards and witches shot spells at each other, hit bludgers around, and when all else failed, they physically rammed into each other. All the owls also flew into the fight, pecking at the Death Eaters' hands and faces.

"Everyone, move up to the castle!" Mr. Weasley shouted to his children. "The portraits and ghosts were already signaled to open the entrance and all the corridors! Get inside!" Mr. Weasley grabbed Penelope, standing near him, and pushed her forward, up toward the castle. She, Percy, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Fred, George, and Ginny all ran up the hill to the entrance, moving as fast as their legs would carry them. Charlie, Fred, and George all ran close to Ginny, guarding her from behind. Bill, Percy, and Fleur were able to pull open the enormous doors, and they all dove inside.

Up in the sky, Harry and Ron accelerated out of the battle and shot through the doors, just as Fred and George shut them with a resounding, "Colloportus!" The moment the two boys landed in the middle of the Entrance Hall, Ginny collided with Harry in a fierce hug and Fleur hugged Ron tightly. The moment Ginny released Harry, he took charge where Mr. Weasley left off.

"Everyone upstairs, to Myrtle's bathroom," he said. "We'll go down into the Chamber of Secrets. Only Voldemort himself can reach us down there, and he's not here." No one questioned Harry's idea. Ron led the way upstairs with everyone else coming up behind him. Harry, Ginny, Fleur, and Charlie brought up the rear. The portraits shouted words of encouragement and reassurance to the group as they ran, all their voices mixing with the sounds of the battle out on the grounds. Once everyone was inside Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, Harry hissed at the entrance in Parseltongue and it opened. Ron, Fred, and George jumped down the long shaft into the Chamber first. Fleur, Penelope, Bill, and Percy jumped down after them. Harry hissed at the entrance so it would slowly begin to close again. When he, Charlie, and Ginny jumped in, it would close behind them.

Right when they were about to jump, Lucius Malfoy, Pettigrew, and Rabastan Lestrange crashed through the windows of the bathroom on their brooms and shouted, "Impedimenta!" Harry, Ginny, and Charlie were all knocked off their feet and into the wall behind them. Harry and Ginny shot their Patronuses at the Death Eaters reflexively. Behind the temporary shield of white light, Harry dove over to Ginny and pulled her toward the entrance of the Chamber, which was still slowly closing. The panicked shouts of those who had already jumped down into the Chamber could be heard echoing up the long shaft from below.

A jet of red light issued from one of the Death Eaters' wands and collided with the tile floor right in front of Harry and Ginny. The tiles exploded and Harry pushed Ginny out of the way of the debris and covered her body with his as sharp tile pieces rained down on them. Charlie looked over at them, determination shining in his eyes.

"Save my sister, Harry!" He shouted, "The Chamber is almost closed! You two get down there! Protect my family!" Harry's stomach turned, even before he could get a clear view of Charlie, he knew what he was going to do.

"Charlie, no!" He shouted, "Get inside! We can all make it!" Right at that moment, Macnair barreled in through another window and shot a Stunner at Ginny that Harry barely pulled her clear of in time. Charlie charged forward and tackled Macnair. Rolling past the Patronuses, he aimed his wand at Rabastan.

"Avada Kedavra!" Charlie shouted and his curse struck Rabastan just a little below the heart. Rabastan keeled over and sprawled across the floor, dead.

The Chamber was almost closed. Harry pulled Ginny up to it and the two of them swung their legs around, so they were seated on the edge of the shaft with their legs dangling down. When Harry noticed he had a clear shot of Macnair, he uttered his own killing curse, "Avada Kedavra!" Harry's first human kill fell to the floor. There was no more time for fighting; he and Ginny were about to be crushed by the closing Chamber.

"Charlie, let's go!" Harry shouted, but too late. Another Death Eater barreled in, distracting Charlie enough for Pettigrew to get a clear shot.

"Avada Kedavra!" Pettigrew shouted. His curse struck Charlie squarely in the chest.

It was as if everything began moving in slow motion. All of a sudden, everything seemed to go silent, but it wasn't. Harry could see and feel Ginny screaming beside him. He was screaming. He wanted to retaliate against the Death Eaters. He wanted to stay and help Charlie, but he knew there was nothing he could do to help Charlie. Without even registering that he was doing it, he shoved Ginny into the almost closed shaft and leapt in after her. He heard the entrance close, even as they slid down. No one could follow them.

As soon as Harry and Ginny landed amongst the rubble on the floor of the Chamber, Ginny threw herself back at the mouth of the shaft. "CHARLIE!" She screamed up into the dark, vertical tunnel, "CHARLIE!" Tears sprang from Ginny's eyes and splashed down her front as she kept screaming her second-oldest brother's name. "CHARLIE! COME BACK! CHARLIE!" Harry pulled Ginny away from the shaft and hugged her tightly, even as he cried himself.

"He's gone, Ginny!" He choked out, amid Ginny's continued screams, "They killed him, Ginny. He's de—"

"NO!" Ginny shrieked and she crumpled to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Charlie's dead?" Ron whispered. He, Bill, Percy, Fred, and George looked like they'd been struck by lightning. Penelope and Fleur were fighting back tears of their own. Harry faced them reluctantly.

"Just before we were about to jump down here, several Death Eaters crashed their brooms through the windows," Harry spoke as though every word was a knife in his heart. "They kept firing curses close to the entrance while it was closing. Charlie told us to go on without him, so he could cover us. We stayed a little longer, waiting for him. He killed Rabastan Lestrange and I killed Macnair, but…" Harry choked. He couldn't bear to think of what had just happened, much less speak of it, but he did. "Pettigrew killed Charlie."

Ginny let out another scream of sorrow and fury. Harry knelt down on the floor beside her and he held her close. "I'm so sorry, Ginny," he whispered over and over again. "I'm sorry, Ginny… I'm so sorry…"

Harry, Penelope, Fleur, and all the remaining Weasley children remained in a stunned silence for a while. A short time later, another woman's screams of despair could be heard from above them. The screaming and sobbing became more audible after Harry hissed loudly in Parseltongue, opening the entrance again. Someone from above shot long, glowing ropes down the shaft that retracted as soon as the group in the Chamber grabbed them, pulling them out. They already knew what they'd see at the top.

Mrs. Weasley was on her knees beside Charlie, shaking him and screaming his name. She even shot a Riddikulus Charm at him, in case his body was actually a boggart portraying her worst fear, but it was true. It had really happened. Her child was dead. Mr. Weasley was also next to Charlie's body, crying and shaking uncontrollably. All the Order members who had come to fight off the Death Eaters were also in the bathroom, staring at all the Weasleys with teary eyes.

"Charlie's the one who killed Rabastan," Harry said in a strangled voice, speaking to the entire room. "He saved me and Ginny, and he took one of them with him." Harry glanced over at Rabastan's body which Fred and George were hexing furiously. "Pettigrew was the one who killed Charlie, but Charlie killed one of them too. He was incredibly brave…" Harry choked again. He couldn't believe what was happening. He couldn't believe what he was saying.

"Macnair?" Kingsley asked.

"Harry killed him," Ginny whimpered, letting go of Harry and collapsing next to her mother, dropping her head onto Charlie's chest. "We tried to save you," she cried softly.

"Thank you, Harry," Mr. Weasley choked out, looking crestfallen, but deeply grateful. Ron suddenly broke, leaping forward and hugging his father fiercely. He was crying and shaking, and Harry winced at the sight.

"They'll pay for this, Dad," Ron gasped through his ragged breathing. "They'll all pay. Hermione's going to destroy the locket, Harry and I will figure out some way to kill Nagini, and we'll stop them all… We'll kill Voldemort… We'll kill them… They won't get away with this… They'll pay for this…"

Harry turned away from Ron, unable to keep watching his best friend come so unglued. Instead, he looked out the shattered window Charlie's killer, Peter Pettigrew, had come through. Out there, burning bright against the night sky was the Dark Mark, looming over Hogwarts once again.


	20. On a Cold Morning

Within twenty-four hours of Charlie Weasley's death, everyone in the wizarding world knew about it. Every known magic periodical paper and magazine was filled with pictures of the Dark Mark over Hogwarts, the other Weasleys, the pile of rubble that was once the Shrieking Shack, and even a couple low-quality shots of Harry and Ron, hiding from the cameras. Thankfully, those few pictures were the most informative parts of the articles. The articles said the Weasleys had been in hiding from the Death Eaters, but no one knew why.

Dumbledore told the Weasleys to stay inside Hogwarts. All of the Order members moved into the castle too, deciding they would all be the safest if they lived together. All the house elves Order members had adopted after Hogwarts was closed gladly returned to the castle and kitchen they were accustomed to working in. The Weasleys had lost everything when the Death Eaters destroyed the Shrieking Shack, so they all collected spare school robes out of the Room of Requirement to use, along with clothes some of the other Order members loaned them as their daily clothing.

Dumbledore and Snape had arrived at Hogwarts on the morning after the attack, to explain what they'd done after they'd been alerted to the raid. They had gone and destroyed the Death Eaters' underground hideout, the one outside Knockturn Alley, trying to distract as many Death Eaters as they could and divide their forces without actually showing themselves at Hogwarts. After all, they had to avoid exposing themselves for as long as possible. Dumbledore was devastated to hear that Charlie had died when he hadn't been there to help.

As it turned out, Charlie, Rabastan, and Macnair hadn't been the only casualties of the fight. Amycus and Alecto Carrow were killed when they accidentally crashed into the Whomping Willow during the largely airborne battle. The final casualty had been Hermione's cat, Crookshanks. When Greyback had cornered and disarmed Tonks on the ground near the Black Lake, Crookshanks had leapt onto Greyback's head and gouged one of Greyback's eyes with his claws, so Tonks could escape. Unfortunately, Greyback had grabbed the cat off his head and thrown him far out into the icy water of Black Lake, where Crookshanks had drowned.

While Snape had been forced to depart within hours of his arrival, Dumbledore, Harry, and Ron remained at Hogwarts for Charlie's funeral. Harry and Ron kept their two-way mirror with them constantly, waiting tensely for Hermione to contact them. They dreaded having to explain to her what had happened, but they also felt a stronger need than ever to see and speak to her. They remained at Hogwarts for two days after Charlie's funeral, even after Dumbledore had to leave, without hearing from her. The morning Harry and Ron returned to the Grangers' house, Hermione finally made contact. She blinked as soon as she saw their downcast faces.

"What happened?" She asked, wondering whether or not she really wanted to know. Harry and Ron exchanged somber glances.

* * *

Hermione tucked her tear-splashed two-way mirror back into her bottomless bag. She pushed the bag under her bed before falling across the bed and burying her face in her pillow. Not only had the second-oldest son of her current roommate, Molly Weasley, been murdered, but he was killed by Pettigrew, the traitorous Marauder currently sitting in the boys' dormitory, yards away, working on his Herbology essay. And her cat, Crookshanks, was dead too, having sacrificed himself to save Tonks from Greyback.

Hermione heard the voices of Lily, Molly, and Alice coming up to the dormitory door. She quickly blotted her tear-stained face with her robes and tried to collect herself before they entered. She stood up beside her bed as they came in.

"It'll be okay, Molly," Alice said, guiding Molly over to her own bed. "Madam Pomfrey gave you those potions to help with the sickness, and this time you'll be done with school before you really even start showing."

"Showing?" Hermione asked, her stomach plummeting sickeningly. Molly, Alice, and Lily looked over at her. Lily frowned at the sight of Hermione's puffy, red eyes, but the two other girls didn't seem to notice. Molly blushed.

"Remember what I told you about me and Arthur, on New Years?" Molly asked. Hermione nodded, truly becoming nauseous at the thought of what Molly was about to tell her. Though Molly still looked a little nervous, she smiled slightly. "Bill's going to get a baby brother," she said. "I'm pregnant." Hermione swayed on her feet. Lily leapt forward and helped Hermione sit down on her bed.

"Hermione, are you okay?" Molly gasped. Hermione forced a laugh, refusing to meet Lily's worried eyes.

"Yeah, sorry," Hermione said, "I missed breakfast. I should probably go try to at least get some toast." Hermione jumped back up to her feet and skirted around Lily, still avoiding eye contact, afraid that meeting Lily's eyes would make her own eyes erupt with tears before she could get out of sight. She sped out the door and down toward the common room. Before she could even reach the bottom of the staircase, tears were splashing down her front. Her feet were continually picking up speed and her mind was reeling so fast that she didn't even notice when she almost ran into Remus as she rushed out of the Gryffindor portal.

Hermione kept running down through the castle, not caring who saw her or what they called after her. She was almost down to the Entrance Hall when one of the observers got physical. Regulus grabbed Hermione's arm and pulled her into a dark corner, behind a suit of armor.

"Which one of them hurt you?" He demanded. "Hermione, I swear, I told them to stay away from you after that night in the forest. I didn't mean to get you into trouble. I was stupid. I just wasn't thinking. I told them about what you did. I shouldn't have said anything, I'm sorry. Just tell me which of them did this to you, and I'll take care of them. I don't care what the Dark Lord will think." Regulus said all this very fast. Hermione blinked, making several lingering tears tumble out onto her cheeks.

"Regulus, what are you talking about?" She asked, confused and staggered. Regulus looked confused.

"When I told the others about what happened in the forest, and what we talked about—the Marauders' Map, the basilisk, the acromantula, the Legilimency, the things Kuja said about you, Hagrid—some of them got really suspicious and angry," Regulus said. "They told Wormtail to try and talk to you about it, but he told them you almost exposed his Mark to the other Gryffindors. Now most of them are thinking you're a really dodgy spy or something. I think you're a good sort, of course, and Snape hasn't said anything against you, but if one of them hurt you—"

"They didn't!" Hermione shouted, her head spinning as she tried to grasp everything she'd just heard from Harry, Ron, Molly, and Regulus, all at once. Regulus blinked.

"Then, why are you—"

"I can't tell you, Regulus," Hermione interrupted again.

"Hermione, why not?" Regulus asked exasperatedly. "I helped you at Christmas, I stood up for you against the others, I took you to see the fireworks on New Year's Eve—what happened to what you told me that night? You told me you knew I was different from the other Death Eaters. You understood me, and I think I understand you more than just about anyone else here."

" _No, you don't_!" Hermione snapped, not pausing for even a moment to think of the condition of her mission. She couldn't think of anything else at the moment. "You don't know the _half_ of it, and you probably don't want to!"

" _Yes, I do_!" Regulus shouted, suddenly looking quite distraught himself. "Hermione, there is nothing I want _more_ than to understand what's happening to you, and for that matter what the bloody hell is happening to me!" Hermione gaped at Regulus. He was staring at her as though he couldn't decide if he wanted to hug her or strangle her. "Before you came here, I may not have been a perfect fit with the Death Eaters, or with anyone else," Regulus continued, "but at least I had my sanity! Ever since you came here, I haven't been in my right mind!

"I never really had anything against those Gryffindors you're friends with, but now I find myself _liking_ them and wanting to befriend them myself! I never got along _perfectly_ with the other Death Eaters and Slytherins, but now when they even _talk_ about hurting you or your friends, it's all I can do not to throttle them! I've certainly never been one of the Dark Lord's most devoted Death Eaters, but now I keep thinking of quitting, if only to be able to help you with whatever it is you're _still_ refusing to tell me! I've never felt like this before, and it's bloody well driving me mad! With the Death Eaters, with the Dark Lord, in classes, in Hogsmeade, all I can think about is _you_! You, and how you make me want to change, and how you make anything seem possible, and how I feel happier and more myself when I'm with you than I ever have in my entire life! Do you have any idea what that feels like?!"

Hermione was crying again. She was backed up against the wall and Regulus' hands were on her shoulders. He was gripping her tightly, hard enough to bruise her, but she barely noticed the pain. Their faces were very close, but only for a moment.

BANG!

Regulus was blasted backward into the suit of armor he'd pulled Hermione behind. Hermione spun around just as Remus aimed his wand at Regulus again, as Regulus crawled out from under the heavy armor. "Remus, no!" Hermione shrieked, jumping in front of Remus' raised wand.

"What was he doing—" Remus began.

"Nothing!" Hermione shouted.

"You were crying—"

"Not because of him!"

"No, we're the ones making you cry, and he's the one you keep running to!" Remus snapped angrily. Hermione looked as though he'd struck her.

"Remus, I didn't run to him, I ran _into_ him," Hermione tried to explain, but Remus just glared at her.

"Like you did on New Year's Eve?" He asked her, a pained expression breaking Hermione's heart. "Really, Hermione, if you're not interested in me, fine! A girl like you can do better than me anyway, but don't do worse!"

"Remus!" Hermione protested.

" _He's a Death Eater_!" Remus nearly howled in outrage, "He's Sirius' brother! He's—"

"He's not as bad as you think!" Hermione screamed through her tears. Remus looked stricken.

"Hermione," he spoke softly, looking crushed, "I don't pretend to know any more about him than I know about you, and right now I'm not sure I know you at all." Remus gave Hermione one more hurt look before stepping around her and half-running back upstairs.

"Remus!" Hermione called after him pleadingly, "Remus, please come back! Remus!" She started to go after him, but Regulus grabbed her hand. Hermione jumped, having forgotten he was there.

"Just let him go, Hermione," Regulus said. "Forget about it—"

"I can't!" Hermione cried, "You don't understand!" Regulus released her abruptly.

"That really is all I'm going to get from you anymore, isn't it?" He asked, pain and frustration more evident in his voice than in his face, "It's always going to be 'I don't understand'? Well, maybe you're right, Hermione. Maybe I don't want to." With that, Regulus turned and fled the same way as Remus.

"Regulus!" Hermione called after him. She started to follow him, but the left sleeve of her robes snagged on the edge of the spear that was sticking up from the pile of fallen armor and ripped, exposing Garus watch and lightly scratching her wrist. Hermione watched the few drops of blood drawn by the old weapon trickling down to stain the leather band of the watch, and she burst into tears once more. Instead of going upstairs, after Regulus and Remus, she resumed her original course, running through the Entrance Hall and out onto the grounds.

Though there was very little snow still on the ground, the cold, early February air bit at Hermione's face as she continued to run until she reached the front gates of the school. As tears continued to splash down her front, she crossed her arms in front of her. 'Say it,' she thought to herself. 'You just have to say the name once, and the watch will take you back. You failed anyway. You only have three weeks left, and you just ruined things with Regulus. It's over. You failed. Just say it…'

"Granger?" Hermione jumped at the sound of Snape's voice behind her. She wiped her tears with her robes again, and she took a deep breath before turning to face him. Snape blinked at the pitiful sight of her blotchy, tear-stained face, torn robes, bloody wrist, and messy hair. "What are you doing out here?" He asked, smirking mockingly at her distraught appearance. Hermione glared at him.

"Looking for more acromantula," she said icily. Snape gave her a strange look that she couldn't decipher. He glanced back toward the castle before turning his dark eyes back on hers.

"Need help looking?" He said pointedly. Hermione's mind immediately screamed its objections, but her mouth betrayed her again.

"I guess," she said. She drew her wand and muttered a couple spells to mend her robes and clean her tear-streaked face. She proceeded to follow him, not to the Dark Forest, but along the inside of the school gates, heading nowhere in particular. When Snape didn't speak for several minutes, Hermione's nerves finally got to her. She stopped and opened her mouth to speak at the same time he muttered, "You forgot your wrist." Hermione blinked at him, he mouth still slightly open. Snape smirked. "You're still bleeding. It's ruining your pretty watch." Hermione looked down and saw he was right. The spear wound was worse than she'd realized. She groaned and drew her wand.

"Episkey," she grumbled, sealing the wound but not bothering to wipe away the blood. She leveled a glare at Snape. "Look, I know the Death Eaters don't trust me after what happened in the forest, but you know that I saved your life—"

"Yes, I know!" Snape snapped irritably. "That's precisely why I wanted to speak with you alone. I..." Snape trailed off as though the words he was trying to say were as welcome in his mouth as a dungbomb. "Thank you."

"No problem," Hermione said. Snape laughed grimly.

"Yes, it was a problem," he said. "You came to warn me and I slapped you, I got that one you called 'Aragog' even angrier, I couldn't conjure my Patronus until you used Legilimency on me, and you were bitten after I was too slow to dodge that falling tree." Hermione bit back a laugh. When he put it that way, it did sound like a lot of trouble.

"I couldn't just leave you to die," she said.

"That's what I told you to do," Snape said. "I told everyone that they were responsible for getting themselves out on time and alive. You disobeyed orders."

"So did you," Hermione said. Neither she nor Snape were speaking in a challenging tone; they spoke matter-of-factly. Speaking with Snape was surprisingly comforting to Hermione. Since neither of them felt a particularly strong affinity to one another, they could speak frankly without worry; they didn't care if they upset each other.

"You had never used Legilimency before that night, had you?" Snape asked Hermione, after a while. Hermione gave him an inquiring look. "I started practicing both Legilimency and Occlumency in my fifth year," Snape explained. "I'm well practiced in discerning the strength of Legilimency used on me. That's how I can tell who my attacker is, without letting my guard down enough to allow deep penetration. You got lucky with the memory you found in that moment that I let my guard against such assaults slip entirely. I could sense your inexperience." Hermione nodded.

"That was my first time using Legilimency," she admitted. "I know some others who have practiced Occlumency and Legilimency, same year as you. I've studied it, but I'm unpracticed." Snape nodded his understanding.

"You have a raw talent for it," he said simply.

Hermione nodded in thanks. A long silence passed between Hermione and Snape. Hermione didn't need Legilimency to know what Snape was thinking about. "You told me you used Sectumsempra on another person once before," she said. "It was on your father, wasn't it? During a school term, so you couldn't be charged for underage magic use, you used it on him because no one would be able to identify the curse, didn't you?"

"Yes," Snape admitted. "It was shortly after the memory that you saw. My mother was supposed to come meet me for lunch in Hogsmeade, in my fourth year. She sent me a letter telling me my father had thrown her down the stairs and she had to go to St. Mungos. I stole a broom from the quidditch storage room and flew to my house. I knew my father would have left my mother to get to the hospital alone, staying home himself. He'd abused my mother for far too long, nearly killing her the few times she used magic around him, and all I could think was that I had a chance to stop it.

"It was my first kill. My father was passed out on the floor when I got there, probably drunk. I used the Sectumsempra Curse, blasted some furniture around, and called the muggle police. I told them I was walking through the neighborhood when I heard a man scream and saw someone run out of the house, covered in blood. I found a muggle walking nearby, modified their memory to fit the story, and left them to wait for the police while I flew back to Hogwarts. When my mother returned home from St. Mungos, the police told her someone had broken into the house and murdered my father. She never knew the truth."

"Never?" Hermione prodded.

"She died last term," Snape said.

"I'm sorry," Hermione said. Snape said nothing. At first, Hermione wondered if it was because he was really hurt by the memory. When Snape noticed her staring at him, he pointed in the direction of the Black Lake. Hermione turned and saw Remus standing several yards away, looking extremely uncomfortable. Hermione's stomach turned. First Remus had caught her alone with Regulus, and now Snape? He was still standing there, waiting. Whether that was a good or bad sign, it was hard to know. "I need to talk to him," she said to Snape.

"Try to stay out of biting range," Snape scoffed and walked off, keeping a wide berth between him and Lupin. Hermione walked down to Remus, stopping a few feet away from him. She stared down at her feet for a moment. With clear effort, she raised her eyes to meet his.

"Remus, about Snape—"

"I don't even want to know what you were doing with Snape, Hermione," Remus said. Hermione was silent. "As soon as I got upstairs, I regretted my actions," Remus continued. "Actually, I remained within earshot until Regulus came upstairs too, and I had to get out of the way. As soon as he was gone, I came back downstairs, but you had run off already."

"Remus, there is nothing going on between me and Regulus," Hermione said softly. "We're just friends. We _were_ just friends, I guess. I know that still makes me the friend of a Death Eater, but Regulus isn't who you think he is—"

"Hermione, please stop," Remus said. Hermione fell silent again. "Though I can't say I'm sorry for attacking Regulus, I am sorry for what I said to you," Remus continued. "I was out of line. I do know you better than that, and I do trust you. So, if you say Regulus is okay, I believe you, but... If that's true, why wouldn't you be with him? What I said about how you could do better than me was true. I mean, even if you have nothing against werewolves, what girl in her right mind would really want to be with one?"

"A wonderful girl," Hermione said, her eyes beginning to well up again. "Remus, there is someone out there for you, I promise you that." Remus opened his mouth to argue, but Hermione cut him off. "And if you trust me like you say you do, you'll believe me when I promise you that." Remus was silent. "Remus," Hermione continued, "I do really like you, but…" Hermione trailed off, choking on the words coming to her lips. They still didn't feel quite right. "I have a boyfriend," she said. Remus blinked at her.

"This whole time?" He asked. Hermione nodded.

"If I led you to believe otherwise, Remus, I'm so sorry," Hermione said. Remus actually smiled faintly.

"At least I know it wasn't something I was doing wrong," he said. Hermione laughed.

"No, Remus, you didn't do anything wrong," she said. "You've been wonderful to me. You really will meet someone, Remus. You'll love someone, and they'll love you as _more_ than a friend. She'll _really_ love you. You'll just have to remember my promise and remember to let her in. You'll have to remember that you deserve to be loved, in spite of your curse." Remus nodded, then he glanced back in the direction Snape had gone.

"Do I want to know what you were doing with Snape?" He asked. Hermione shook her head. "I didn't think so," Remus said. He stared into her slightly watery eyes and was reminded of why he'd seen her and Regulus behind the suit of armor to begin with. "Hermione, why were you crying back there?" He asked. "You ran out of your dorm like it was full of boggarts and dementors, but the other girls just said you missed breakfast." Hermione started to cry again as the emotional impediment that her conversation with Snape had created abruptly crumbled.

"I can't tell you, Remus," she said. "I wish I could, but…"

"I wouldn't understand?" Remus asked. Hermione blinked her teary eyes at him. "I heard that last bit of what you said to Regulus," Remus reminded her. Hermione nodded somberly. "Whatever it is you're going through, Hermione, it seems like I'm not the only one who doesn't want to leave you to face it alone," Remus continued. That didn't comfort Hermione at all. She was supposed to tell Regulus the truth, but she might have done irreparable damage to that relationship.

"I'm not going through it alone, Remus," she tried to explain without giving anything away, "but I am, in a way, because I have to." Remus just looked more confused.

"Hermione, that doesn't make any sense," he said.

"It does if you know more details," Hermione half-laughed.

"But you can't tell anyone any details?" Remus asked.

"Not really," Hermione said. Remus nodded, but he looked disappointed. "Lily knows," Hermione blurted out after a moment, trying to reassure him. Remus blinked.

"She does?" He asked. "She's never mentioned anything."

"She promised me she wouldn't tell anyone else unless I asked her to," Hermione explained. "Honestly, Lily wasn't supposed to know either. She found out accidentally. She's been helping me, but there isn't much she can do. Really, the only person here who can really help me is…" Hermione couldn't say his name. She couldn't handle it if she upset Remus again.

"Regulus?" Remus asked. Hermione nodded, unable to meet his eyes.

"I know that doesn't make sense to you, Remus," she sniffed, "but I really do have a _very_ good reason for seeking his help, and no one else's." Hermione felt sick again, the reality of how badly she might've just ruined her only hope of destroying Slytherin's locket making her head spin. "He really is the only one who can help me," she said softly, "but he doesn't even know it, because I haven't been able to explain it to him yet, and now he's probably too angry with me to ever give me a chance to explain all of it. I was finally starting to believe I had things under control, that I would be able to tell him, and that he'd be able to help me, but now I'm just messing everything up!" Hermione sniffed, finally looking back up at Remus. "I really thought I could do it," she whispered as tears rolled down her face, "but I was just kidding myself."

"No, you weren't," Remus said firmly. "I may not know what you're trying to do, or why you need Regulus to help you do it, but I do know you can pull it off. You can do anything, Hermione. You're one of the brightest, bravest witches I've ever met. As for Regulus, even if there's no romance there, you can't deny that he is remarkably fond of you. It also seems like he really does want to help you. Maybe all you need to do is stop looking for the right time or way to tell him, and just tell him?" Hermione nodded.

"You're probably right," she said softly. "At this point, I've got nothing to lose by telling him. If he refuses to help me, I'm in no worse a position…" Hermione trailed off, deep in thought, until the she noticed school's Death Eaters and Narcissa coming down the hill, straight toward her and Remus. She grabbed Remus and pushed him ahead of her, into a thick mass of nearby bushes. She started to duck into them herself, but she was spotted.

"Hermione, is that you?" Narcissa called out, walking arm-in-arm with Lucius.

"Oi! Wait up, Granger!" Nott shouted, "You should come with us!" Hermione could barely make out Remus' face in the bushes. His eyes widened.

"Remus, tell Lily that I said to tell you," Hermione whispered urgently, careful to move her lips as little as possible.

"What?!" Remus whispered back, startled.

"Tell her to tell you the truth about me," Hermione whispered even more urgently. "Tell her I said to tell only you. No one else, just you. Now get down, and whatever happens, _stay quiet_!" Remus ducked lower into the bushes, so Hermione couldn't see him anymore. Hermione pulled off her otter pin and rubbed it in the dirt, so it looked like it had fallen off, and she straightened up again. She faced the group approaching her, fastening the pin she'd 'dropped' back on her outer robes.

"Snape told us he'd seen you out here," Avery said as the group halted in a semi-circle in front of Hermione.

"How did you get rid of the moping werewolf?" Snape asked, making the other Death Eaters laugh lightly.

"I didn't, James did," Hermione said calmly. "He came out here and asked Remus to help him run some seeker drills."

"James doesn't need help with seeker drills," Pettigrew laughed. "He just needs someone to watch him show off. I guess the Mudblood girlfriend wasn't up to it." The Death Eaters laughed again. Hermione saw the bushes Remus was hidden in rustling slightly.

"Probably stuck with Weasley, the blood-traitor breeder," Lucius sneered and the Death Eaters howled with laughter. Luckily, that kept them from hearing the twigs snapping in the bushes.

"She's really pregnant again, Wormtail?" Bellatrix asked amid the laughter.

"Yeah, poor Arthur," Pettigrew said. "It's probably a good thing he tends to be such a pacifist. He can't get away with anything." The Death Eaters positively roared with laughter. Without realizing she was doing it, Hermione reached for her wand. Remus quickly poked a stick out of the brush and slapped her hand down. As little as he knew about what was going on between Hermione and the Death Eaters, he knew she wasn't supposed to do that. Only one person noticed his intervention.

"Is that where you get it from, Wormtail?" Regulus said, moving closer to Hermione, so his body blocked Remus from view. "How long did you have your Mark before you nearly blew your cover? Three days?" The Death Eaters laughed again, though more grimly.

"Yeah, thanks to _her_!" Pettigrew snapped, pointing the finger he would later cut off his own hand at Hermione's face. Hermione's heart skipped a beat, but Regulus remained calm. He moved still closer to Hermione and slung an arm around her shoulders.

"Do you really want to _emphasize_ how she tops you, Wormtail?" Regulus asked. "If so, I can help: She beat a few of us at once in a duel before. You balk at the first sign of a real fight. She's used an Unforgivable before, she can cast a corpeal Patronus, and can she can use Legilimency. You can't cast an effective Confundus Charm. She has risked her life to save the life of one of our own. The only reason you joined up with us was to save your own skin—"

"SHUT UP!" Pettigrew shouted, drawing his wand. Regulus nudged Hermione pointedly and she had her wand drawn in a flash. There was a burst of yellow light, and a flurry of dirt and rock blew up off the ground. When the dust cleared, everyone looked at Hermione first, seeing she was unharmed, then they all looked around for Pettigrew, but they couldn't see him.

"Where is he?" Goyle asked. Hermione pointed at the ground where Pettigrew had been standing. Everyone looked down and saw a particularly fat snail leaving a trail of slime behind it as it moved slowly away from all the feet that were dangerously close to stepping on it. The Death Eaters guffawed, some of them doubling over and shaking with laughter.

"Now, _that's_ the kind of transfiguration we should be learning more of in class!" Rabastan howled, "Nice one, Granger!"

"Very nice," Regulus agreed, "Unfortunately, we'll have to change him back. If his Mark burns again, all that slime might fry him."

"Fair point," Avery said, waving his wand at the snail. It transformed back into Pettigrew with an odd squelching noise.

"The Mark burned?" Hermione prodded. "You mean—"

"We can't Disapparate while we're still on the grounds," Regulus said.

"It's nothing really important this time," Nott said. "That's why we're bringing Narcissa with us. You should come too, Granger." Hermione's stomach lurched violently. She was about to attempt an excuse to get out of it when Narcissa chimed in.

"Yes, please come, Hermione!" She said, "I'll have someone to talk to if the Dark Lord wants to speak with them alone." Hermione was disarmed by Narcissa's happiness. She couldn't deny it. Hermione nodded. Narcissa leapt forward and hugged her. "Thanks, Hermione!" Narcissa squealed excitedly. "I know it's scary to meet the Dark Lord for your first time, but it'll be okay. You're with us!" Hermione just nodded again, too horrified by what was happening to speak.

"Then move along, ladies," Lucius said briskly, coming forward and prying Narcissa off of Hermione. "There will be trouble for all of us if we're late." Lucius stepped around Hermione and pulled Narcissa along with him, toward the front gates. Regulus grabbed Hermione's hand and squeezed it reassuringly, though his eyes didn't meet hers, and he pulled her forward too.

Hermione peered into the bushes and briefly met Remus' horrified gaze as she proceeded toward the gates with the Death Eaters and Narcissa. Hermione was being taken to Voldemort and Remus was ready to run straight to Lily for an explanation—a very long explanation.


	21. Behind the Mask

Hermione, Narcissa, and the Death Eaters all Apparated a short distance from a massive, unkempt manor. It had three floors with multiple windows, all covered on the inside by heavy curtains that were impossible to see through. Hermione felt an odd chill, like the one she'd felt outside the house in Godric's Hollow. Terrible things had happened inside the house in front of her, as would many more.

Regulus grabbed Hermione's hand again, and he whispered in her ear as they both walked toward the house with the rest of their group. "Stay calm," he said. "Don't speak to him unless you're spoken to. Keep an eye on what Narcissa does and follow her example. She's come with us a few times by now. She knows what to do and when to do it. Try to stay close to her, me, or Snape. Don't trust any of the others. They might try to set you up. Just stay on your toes. _Never_ let your guard down." Hermione nodded frantically. As they reached the front door, Regulus released her hand and noticed blood had rubbed off on his own. His eyes widened and he passed Hermione back to Narcissa. "Get that blood off her before Greyback sees it!" He hissed urgently. Narcissa yanked Hermione to the back of the group filing into the hideout, pulling her sleeve up and whispering cleansing charms to remove the bloodstains from Hermione's skin, though the spells didn't work on the watch.

"Try to stay clear of Greyback," Narcissa whispered to Hermione quickly. "He has a particular taste for young girls like us, and I mean that literally. Even Bella avoids him when she can." Hermione nodded again. Her breath caught in her chest as she followed the young Death Eaters down a long hall with creaking floorboards. They walked past a large wooden staircase and approached a pair of massive double doors. One of the doors bore an engraving of the Slytherin crest, the other an engraving of the Dark Mark. Bellatrix knocked on the door with the Slytherin crest seven times, then she knocked on the door with the Dark Mark nine times. The doors dissolved away completely.

The Death Eaters, Narcissa, and Hermione walked through the tall archway that remained. As soon as they'd passed completely through the archway, the doors rematerialized. They were left standing inside a long, narrow dining hall. At the opposite end of the hall was a tall armchair in which Voldemort was seated, facing a semi-circle of unmasked Death Eaters. Hermione's stomach turned at the sight. Though she could only see the backs of their heads, she could recognize most of the Death Eaters standing before Voldemort. As for Voldemort himself, his appearance differed greatly in this time than how Harry had described him in her real time. Though his skin was pale, it wasn't as pallid as it was in his future form. He had a normal nose between his red eyes and he looked a little less emaciated.

"You know your positions," Voldemort spoke indifferently to the group that had just arrived from Hogwarts. The young Death Eaters moved quickly toward the semi-circle of older Death Eaters, bowed deeply to Voldemort, and stood in different, seemingly assigned positions amongst the other Death Eaters, their school robes looking very out-of-place. Narcissa pulled Hermione to the left side of the group. One woman was already seated on the floor there, presumably the girlfriend or wife of one of the older Death Eaters. In this time, Bellatrix was the _only_ female Death Eater.

"The youngest Ms. Black is joining us again?" Voldemort asked with a little more interest. Narcissa nodded as she reached the other woman. She pulled her Slytherin robe off, leaving her wand in one of its pockets and tossing it to the floor on Voldemort's right side, where the other woman's cloak and wand were laying. Narcissa sat down beside the older woman and turned to Hermione, who was standing a couple feet back, looking around tensely.

"Security measure, Hermione," Narcissa said softly. "Robe off. Leave your wand inside."

"Hermione?" Voldemort repeated as Hermione took an uncertain step forward and began to reluctantly remove her Gryffindor robe. "Hermione Granger?" Hermione nodded. She tossed her robe, wand inside, into the pile beside Voldemort as though she was handing him her life on a platter. It wasn't her wand that she was most frightened to discard. Her turquoise otter pin was still attached to that outer robe.

"I've heard a lot about you, Ms. Granger," Voldemort continued, clearly noting how uncomfortable she was. "You're certainly made out to be more of a Gryffindor than Wormtail. It was so brave and noble of you to save the life of one of my most promising Death Eaters. I thank you."

Though the thanks Voldemort spoke seemed genuine, the way he stared at Hermione told her he wasn't nearly as pleased with other things he'd been told about her. Hermione was careful to guard her mind against him as much as she could and avoided direct eye contact, but Voldemort wasn't trying to catch her eyes. He was looking at her wrist.

"Remove the watch as well, Ms. Granger," Voldemort said. Hermione's eyes snapped up to meet his, startled. Voldemort read her silent question. "True, a basic watch would not normally be deemed a potential threat," he said. "An object of any kind that is rarely ever separated from its owner, however, is always cause for some suspicion, and I see it's been bloodied. Never a good sign. _Remove it_."

Hermione obeyed the order. Even as she removed Garus' watch, she could feel her pulse pounding rapidly through her wrist. She fought to appear calm as she tossed the watch into the pile with her wand and otter pin. All she could do as she sat on the floor beside Narcissa was pray that Voldemort wouldn't realize that the last hope the wizarding world hand of stopping him was within the reach of his hand. As it was, Greyback looked at the watch and sniffed at the air, smiling at the smell of fresh, female blood. Hermione shuddered lightly. The werewolf that bit Remus thought she smelled tasty. Voldemort turned his attention back to the group of twenty-three Death Eaters: Regulus, Snape, Bellatrix, Macnair, Rookwood, Dolohov, Rabastan, Rodolphus, Karkaroff, Jugson, Greyback, Avery, Mulciber, Rosier, Quirrel, Lucius, Crabbe, Goyle, Wilkes, Gibbon, Nott, Pettigrew, and Travers.

"Has anyone found any potential recruits?" Voldemort asked the group.

"Another student, my Lord," Lucius Malfoy answered, "Barty Crouch Jr., a third-year Ravenclaw." Voldemort nodded slightly.

"Third year is a little young for a Mark," Voldemort said thoughtfully, "but if he's serious about joining us, we can certainly train him to join us a year or two from now. Bring him along next time."

"Yes, my Lord," Lucius responded promptly.

"Wormtail," Voldemort continued, "you're continuing to keep an eye on your friends and listening for any new developments with the Order of the Phoenix?"

"Yes, my Lord, always," Wormtail nearly squeaked, his whole body trembling while some of the older Death Eaters bit back laughter at his weakness. "Nothing new,bmy Lord. Forgive me."

"Forgive you?" Voldemort repeated, glaring at Pettigrew's quivering form in disgust. "You'll remember, Wormtail, that you are still alive right now because you promised you could spy for us and help us stop your friends. The first part of that prophecy Severus overheard this past summer suggested the boy's parents will have 'thrice defied' me. Anyone who has been so daring has been recruited by Dumbledore. The most probable couple, we've decided, is James Potter and Lily Evans. They're your closest friends, Wormtail, and you have yet to give us anything of substance."

Pettigrew was shaking so violently. Hermione glanced over at Narcissa—her eyes were shut against what she expected was about to happen. Hermione tensed. Wormtail wasn't supposed to die! Snape had to become a spy for Dumbledore! This wasn't how things were supposed to happen! "It's not his fault!" Hermione blurted out in a panic. Every eye in the room turned to stare at her, most of them wide and incredulous at Hermione's daring to speak.

"It isn't?" Voldemort asked so icily it was surprising frost didn't issue from his mouth. His eyes weren't wide as they glared dangerously at Hermione, but narrow and burning, silently daring her to look directly into them. Hermione raised her eyes as far up as his clenched jaw before she spoke, choosing her words carefully.

"He has been trying very hard to draw them even closer to him, but my arrival presented unexpected competition," she said. Voldemort's glare softened slightly. Hermione fought not to tremble or squeak herself. "I'm much closer to Remus Lupin than Wormtail is. Sirius Black and James Potter have been spending all their studying time with me as well. As for Lily Evans, she's been spending less time with all the Marauders, spending much more time with me and Molly Weasley. When Wormtail spent the holiday away from the castle, to get his Mark, their favor of me over him was mostly solidified."

"Hermione just had a huge fight with Remus Lupin, though," Regulus chimed in. "He saw her alone with me this morning, and he was furious."

"Then he saw her alone with me," Snape also came to Hermione's defense. "One of us was a shock to him, but two? He'll be sure to tell his friends about what he saw. She'll fall out of the picture soon, and Wormtail can take advantage of the inevitable let down."

"That might even create a good opportunity to move another spy in," Regulus added.

"Like me," Snape said. Everyone in the room looked at him, startled.

"You?" Voldemort asked Snape. He was looking between Snape, Regulus, Wormtail, and Hermione like they'd all gone mad. "I won't deny that you have the skill for the job, but the position? It's a secret to no one that you and James Potter hold hate for each other like you hold for no others."

"He can tell Dumbledore," Hermione blurted. Several of the Death Eaters let out low hissing noises at the mention of Dumbledore.

"Excuse me?" Voldemort hissed much louder, standing up and towering over Hermione. Narcissa and the other woman scrambled away and dove behind some of the Death Eaters.

"About me, not you!" Hermione said shrilly, still seated on the floor at Voldemort's feet, not daring to move apart from instinctively bowing her head in submission. She kept her eyes on the floor as she continued to speak. "Like Snape and Regulus said, Remus found out that I've been sneaking off with various Death Eaters. Even if he doesn't tell his other friends right away, it's likely that he will go talk to Dumbledore about it. If Snape tells Dumbledore first, he could begin to win Dumbledore's trust. Then maybe he could use that to get in." Hermione still didn't dare raise her eyes to see her reaction to her words. The surrounding Death Eaters, however, were watching the scene before them with rapt attention. Greyback was practically quivering in anticipation.

"You, Hermione Granger, the last of your family, are willing to give up all the relationships you've built since you came here, to help us?" Voldemort asked, his tone skeptical. Hermione choked.

'No!' She thought to herself, 'No, I can't do that! I won't! I can't even be sure, if I help Snape get inside the Order, that he'll turn spy for Dumbledore like he's supposed to! What if I've got it wrong?!' Something in Hermione's heart was telling her she didn't have it wrong. She risked a subtle glance at her otter pin and Garus' watch. She blinked when she saw both objects glimmer slightly, as though briefly illuminated by candlelight. When she blinked, one tear fell from her eyes and splashed on the floor. She quickly blinked back the additional tears attempting to escape her eyes and looked up, her eyes automatically finding Regulus.

"I am," she whispered. Voldemort stared down at her for another moment, but then he nodded and turned away from her.

"Snape, what exactly will you tell Dumbledore—"

"That Hermione is with me," Regulus said. He and Hermione were still holding each other's gaze. "He can say that Hermione has been taking advantage of Remus Lupin's feelings for her, passing the information she gets form him along to me. Snape can tell Dumbledore that Hermione is _my_ girl, not Lupin's."

"He can say that Regulus and I trust each other, and help each other," Hermione added softly, "that we'll do anything for each other."

" _Anything_ ," Regulus echoed, his gaze growing continually warmer. He meant every word.

"So be it," Voldemort said, addressing the whole room. "Snape, you have your orders. Wormtail, get your act together. Malfoy, remember to bring Crouch next time. Everyone is dismissed." The confused Death Eaters, Narcissa, and the other, older woman quickly filed outside the hall doors and Disapparated. Hermione and Regulus were at the back of the group, Regulus having leapt forward at the moment of dismissal to grab Hermione's robe and watch, helping her quickly put them back on. They were almost out the door when Voldemort spoke again.

"Not you two." Regulus and Hermione stopped dead in their tracks. They turned around slowly.

"My Lord?" Regulus spoke as calmly as he could. Hermione stood very close to him. Voldemort sat back down on the tall armchair and conjured two more chairs in front of him, staring at Regulus and Hermione pointedly. Regulus grabbed Hermione's hand again, and they walked back up the long hall until they reached the chairs. Both Regulus and Hermione sat, perched on the edges of their chairs, tensed and ready to spring into defensive action should that be necessary.

"You knew about Aragog, Ms. Granger?" Voldemort asked after a tense, silent moment. Hermione's stomach plummeted. Regulus flinched. This couldn't be good.

"Yes," Hermione answered softly, knowing that attempting to lie would just be stupid. Voldemort had clearly been told what had happened in the forest.

"And you know the reason the half-giant, Hagrid, was expelled from Hogwarts in his third year?" Voldemort prodded. Hermione glanced at Regulus. The nod he gave her was barely noticeable.

"Yes," Hermione answered, "for keeping a dangerous magical creature as a pet, inside the castle. Additionally, Aragog was believed to have killed Moaning Myrtle."

"You don't believe that to be true?" Voldemort pressed her, his voice low and dangerous.

"No," Hermione answered honestly after noticing another subtle nod from Regulus, telling her Voldemort knew what she'd said to Hagrid.

"You've been petrified by a basilisk before?" Voldemort inquired in the same soft, deadly tone. Hermione's stomach turned again. She opened her mouth to answer Voldemort when his patience with her seemed to snap. "What do you know about the Chamber of Secrets?!" Hermione's heart started pouding like a war drum.

"She's not the only one who knows that you're the last living heir of Slytherin, my Lord!" Regulus interjected. "Of course you were the one who opened the Chamber that year—you were also in school. As for whatever else she knows, relating to the Chamber or anything else, what does it really matter? She's on our side, and even if she weren't she can't prove anything. She's with me, My Lord. I take full responsibility—"

"Then take her punishment!" Voldemort hissed, jumping back to his feet and drawing his wand, aiming it at Regulus. Without thinking about what she was doing, Hermione drew her wand, leapt from her chair, and took a protective stance in front of Regulus, holding her wand only slightly lower than Voldemort's. The Dark Lord stared her down for a moment, then he smirked at her and lowered his wand. "Gryffindors," he sneered. "Loyal enough, it seems." Giving Regulus one more threatening glare, he swept out of the hall and Disapparated.

Hermione's legs buckled and she collapsed to her knees, trembling from head to toe and bursting into tears. Regulus dove forward and wrapped his arms tightly around her. "It's alright," he cooed, "it's over… You did well... You did beautifully… It'll be okay…"

"R-Regulus," Hermione choked out, "I want you to understand… I want you to know…"

"I still want to know, Hermione," Regulus whispered. "I'm sorry for what I said. I want to help you. Please just tell me what I can do." Hermione checked Garus' watch.

"Not now," she said. "The Pensive Perfume will wear off in six hours."

"Pensive Perfume?" Regulus prodded.

"Six hours," Hermione repeated. "Let's just get out of here."

"The Three Broomsticks?" Regulus asked, helping Hermione to her feet. "Something tells me you aren't up for heading straight back to Hogwarts. Besides, now that Snape is going to out us, we have nothing to hide." Hermione nodded and Regulus guided her out of the forsaken manor before they Disapparated to Hogsmeade.

* * *

"Congratulations, Malfoys," Voldemort drawled, his eyes on Lucius and Draco. "Though the Weasley girl wasn't captured, your job was well done. You found the Weasleys, and in so doing you did more for us than I expect you realize." The two Malfoys and all the other Death Eaters looked back at Voldemort inquiringly. "For one thing, one Weasley was killed," Voldemort continued. "More importantly, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter both came out of hiding to protect the other Weasleys. We're getting to them. Granger wasn't with them, so we know she is still missing from the picture. Most of the Order showed up to fight as well, and yet our underground hideout was destroyed at the same time. True, the few Order members who didn't show up at Hogwarts could be responsible, but how would they know where to find it?"

"My Lord," Bellatrix spoke cautiously, "are you suggesting it was Granger?"

"No," Voldemort answered, "not Granger, but someone who is a little closer at hand—someone whom, I'm beginning to believe, may be here in this manor." The face of every Death Eater in the room paled dramatically. Voldemort stood and leered down at all of them. "If there is a traitor before me," he hissed, "I give you fair warning: Come forward now and your death will be quick. Force me to weed you out myself, and you will be _begging_ for death by the time I'm through with you."

All the Death Eaters were frozen, scarecely daring to breathe. No one came forward. Voldemort's eyes flashed. " _Fine_ ," he hissed. "No one leaves this manor without my consent! Anyone found to be knowingly protecting the traitor will die! As for the traitor, death will come to you slowly! NOW, ALL OF YOU GET OUT OF THIS ROOM AND OUT OF MY SIGHT!"

The Death Eaters fled the room as fast as their legs would carry them, barreling out of the large doors that bore the Slytherin crest and the Dark Mark upon them. Very few of the Death Eaters went to their own rooms. Instead, they all fled to the rooms of their closest companions and confidants among the group. Without even realizing he was doing it, Draco fled past his father, aunt, and uncle, and tore through the manor until he reached Snape's room.

No one else was in that bedroom yet. Draco walked in and sat down on the edge of Snape's bed to wait for him. When Snape still hadn't shown up a few minutes later, Draco's eyes were drawn to the bag underneath the bedside table. He could see a piece of parchment sticking out, caught in the zipper. He remembered that Snape had thrown several rolls of parchment in that bag when he, Draco, had been in the room before. Draco got up, truly intending to just free the parchment form the zipper and close the bag again. When he got close enough to make out the writing visible on that piece of parchment, he froze.

_We'll get back to you when we hear from Hermione again._

_Best, Harry and Ron._

_Hermione's activation phrase: Fleur Weasley._

Draco looked at the door behind him. He hurried over to shut it. Returning to the bag, watching it as if it was full of explosives instead of parchment, Draco knelt on the floor beside the bag and he slowly unzipped it. Once the bag was open, he turned it upside-down, not wanting to blindly stick his hand inside it. Half a dozen rolls of parchment fell out. Draco glanced back at the door again before he unrolled them. They were all letters: One of them was signed by Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Two of the letters were signed by Harry and Ron alone. The last three letters were what shocked Draco the most. They were signed by Albus Dumbledore. Draco picked up one of those letters to examine it closely.

_Severus,_

_Harry and Ron have safely returned to their own hideout. We should probably visit them again_ _soon. Still no word from Hermione. I'm sure she's doing just fine. Harry and Ron have promised to write us both as soon as they hear from her._

_How are things on your end, Severus? You wrote in your last letter that Lucius Malfoy has taken over the search for the Weasleys. Is he coming any closer than Draco? If the time comes for Tom to carry out his threat against the Malfoys, we'll have to find a way to get Draco out of there. I'm sure he'd be safe with me. Continuing to care for him is the least we owe Narcissa after what she did for us._

_Best wishes, Albus Dumbledore._

_Hermione transfigured the Pensive Perfume into a bright turquoise otter pin._

Draco stared at the letter, dumbstruck. Dumbledore was alive! His mother, Narcissa, had done something to help Dumbledore! Snape was in contact with Dumbledore, Potter, Ron Weasley, _and_ Granger! _Snape was the traitor_! Draco had only a moment to linger on that thought before the letter in his hand burst into flame and dissolved into ashes, along with all the other letters. Draco leapt to his feet and turned around just in time to see Snape take aim again. "Expelliarmus!" Draco's wand was ripped out of his reach before he even had time to grab hold of it. There was a tense silence. "Sit down, Draco," Snape ordered after a moment. Draco opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off. " _Sit down and do not speak_." Draco sat on the edge of the bed and said nothing. He just stared at Snape, stunned, scared, and confused. Snape locked the bedroom door behind him, and he put sound wards on the entire room before he spoke to Draco again.

"Do you realize what you've done, Draco?" Snape spoke softly, with a tone of caring that only served to stun Draco even more. "You heard what the Dark Lord said. You've just put yourself in almost as much danger as I am in. You know the truth, now: My loyalty is to Dumbledore. It has been ever since I was about your age." Draco opened his mouth to speak, but Snape raised a silencing hand.

"I promised your mother I would protect you, but what am I to do now?" Snape asked in earnest. "The Dark Lord will be on the lookout for signs of memory modification. I cannot modify your memory. You've practiced Occlumency, but you aren't advanced enough at it to resist the Dark Lord's power for long. If you side with me and hide what you've discovered, you sentence yourself to death at the hands of the Dark Lord or another Death Eater. If you oppose me and attempt to tell anyone else here what you've discovered, I will have no choice but to stop you by any means necessary. What am I to do now?"

"How does my mother fit into all this?" Draco whispered, afraid of provoking Snape any further by speaking too loudly, sound wards or not. Snape regarded Draco for a moment, eventually deciding Draco was already past the point of no return.

"She didn't commit suicide, as she told your father and as I told you," Snape said, his eyes never leaving Draco's. "She sacrificed herself to protect both of us, and to help Dumbledore. She died in his place. That night, on the Astronomy Tower, that was not the real Dumbledore. That was your mother, under the effects of Polyjuice Potion."

"You killed my mother?" Draco whispered, crestfallen.

"By her own choosing, Draco," Snape said firmly. "She made her final choice of sides, and she died for the side that she chose. I did not want to kill her. That was why she begged me to follow through. She wasn't begging for her life, Draco. She was encouraging me to take it, as planned."

"You and Dumbledore destroyed the underground hideout?" Draco asked after a moment, trying to not focus on his mother. Snape nodded once. "And helped Percy Weasley and Clearwater escape?" Snape nodded again. "Charlie Weasley—"

"Was not your fault," Snape cut him off sharply. "You did not wish that to happen, and there was nothing you could have done to prevent it." Draco nodded, his eyes brimming with tears he was determined to fight.

"Potter, Ron Weasley, and Granger?" Draco asked. Snape shook his head.

"That information is only for allies," Snape said. "As of now, you are undecided." Draco blinked.

"Undecided?" Draco prodded.

"This is your last chance, Draco," Snape said gravely. "You've already been given more opportunities than anyone else to reconsider your side in this war, but you still get this final opportunity: Whose side are you on?" Seconds felt like minutes as Draco stared at Snape in silence. After what felt like hours, Draco finally spoke.

"Yours."

* * *

Hermione and Regulus stayed inside the Three Broomsticks for almost the entire six hours before the Pensive Perfume was due to wear off. Hermione had used a Summoning Charm during that time to summon her bottomless bag from Gryffindor Tower. It was slung around her shoulder as she and Regulus stepped out into the rain that had started falling a couple hours before. Hermione casted Impervius Charms on herself and Regulus to repel the rain, leading Regulus out toward the foot of the mountain that towered over Hogsmeade. She then led him up the difficult terrain of the mountain, heading toward the fissure in the rock wall that opened into the cave Sirius had hidden inside during the Triwizard Tournament. Regulus and Hermione were both out of breath when they entered the cave.

"Okay," Regulus panted, "now you're starting to scare me. You knew where to find the acromantula colony _and_ you knew this cave was here?" Hermione didn't answer. She removed her otter pin from her robes and drew her wand. As Regulus watched, she transfigured the pin back into the Pensive Perfume bottle. Regulus stared from the bottle to Hermione, his emerald eyes questioning.

"Just tell me one thing, Regulus," Hermione said, turning to face him. "Do you believe, right now, that I'm half-blood?"

"No," Regulus answered instantly, then he blinked. "Wait a minute," he said, staring calculatingly at Hermione, "How—"

"The potion wore off," Hermione answered his unfinished question. "You'd better sit down, Regulus. This is going to take a while." Regulus sat down on a large rock. Hermione took a deep breath.


	22. The Unthinkable

Regulus was pacing around the small cave, occasionally running his fingers through his hair as he tried to collect himself. Hermione had taken his place, sitting on a large rock. She'd given Regulus a similar explanation to the one she'd given Lily. With Regulus, she went into a little more detail about what obtaining and destroying Slytherin's locket would require. She also mentioned the recent attack that resulted in Charlie Weasley's death, at the hand of Peter Pettigrew. Regulus had been relatively silent throughout Hermione's entire explanation, only stopping her a couple times to ask questions about Harry, Ron, Dumbledore, or Snape, for the most part. Her explanation finished, Regulus was beside himself.

"Hermione, I believe you," he said, "but I'm not sure I believe what you're saying we have to do is possible! You saw how the Dark Lord reacted to what happened in the forest! How the hell are we supposed to steal and destroy a piece of his soul without him killing both of us?!"

"Harry, Ron, Dumbledore, and I have already destroyed all the Horcruxes but the locket and Nagini," Hermione reminded Regulus, "and we're all still alive."

"Not according to the Dark Lord!" Regulus reminded her exasperatedly.

"That's Voldemort's mistake, not ours!" Hermione countered. Regulus stared at her. He hadn't flinched at the sound of Voldemort's name, nor had he protested Hermione's use of it, but he was clearly still adjusting to this side of her that he hadn't seen before—the side of her that had been doing far more dangerous things than saying Voldemort's name since her first year at Hogwarts. He found that he both admired her and somewhat feared her for that. When he spoke again, he spoke without the challenging or startled tone he'd been using moments before.

"You just told me that I died for whatever I did in this time," he said. "Somehow, I'm okay with that. I'm not sure why, but I am. What do you really think is going to happen to you, though? If we do manage to get this Horcrux, and if you do make it back to your time, do you really expect to survive what comes after that? Do you really believe you, Harry, and Ron can kill the Dark Lord and not get killed yourselves?"

"We're going to try," Hermione answered. Regulus frowned at her.

"What if you can't?" He asked, "What if after coming as far as you have, against impossible odds, you can't finish it?"

"Then someone else will have to pick up where we leave off," Hermione said softly, her eyes glistening with tears, but clearly showing her resolve. "Don't you see, Regulus? It's not about what the prophecy said, or Harry's scar, or any of those other things people keep trying to use to justify or explain what's happened. Me, Harry, Ron, Dumbledore, Snape, the Order—we're fighting because we _want_ to—we're all fighting _because someone has to_. If that means we have to die fighting, we will. Those who survive will be crushed by it and they'll grieve for us, but they'll keep fighting. Once the Horcruxes are destroyed, anyone who can get lucky with one curse can kill Voldemort and end this war for good. If making that possible means we have to die, then we'll die, and we'll take as many enemies with us as we can." Hermione was suddenly reminded of the first day she spent with Regulus in Hogsmeade; there was a sparkle in his eyes again, a fire shining from within.

"Hermione Granger," he said, "I'll die for you any day."

It was one o'clock in the morning and Lily and Remus were still sitting in the common room, still waiting for Hermione's return. When Remus found Lily and told her that the Death Eaters had taken Hermione with them to meet Voldemort, she'd nearly fainted. Once she collected herself, Lily told Remus everything that Hermione had told her. Remus had come very close to passing out too. They both sat by the warm embers left in the fireplace, praying that Hermione was still alive. They both scrambled to their feet when the Gryffindor portal swung open.

Remus and Lily both made it out of the portal before Hermione could step inside. They both hugged her so fiercely that the force of their collision nearly toppled all three of them over. In truth, they probably would've fallen over had Regulus not been there to steady them. Remus and Lily both blinked at him.

"Disillusionment Charms," Hermione whispered to all three of them. "Stay quiet and follow me."

Hermione, Lily, Remus, and Regulus all casted Disillusionment Charms on themselves. They found each other's hands, since they couldn't see one another, and the held on to each other as Hermione guided them down to the Room of Requirement. Once they'd stepped inside, dispelled the charms on themselves, and taken a moment to marvel at the room only Hermione had ever seen before, Hermione turned to Lily and Remus.

"Snape is going to tell Dumbledore that I'm a spy for the Death Eaters," she blurted out quickly.

" _What_?!" Lily and Remus spoke simultaneously.

"Hermione, we have to stop him!" Lily said anxiously, "We have to tell Dumbledore the truth! He'll understand—"

"No," Hermione said firmly. Lily and Remus both looked at Hermione as though she'd just uttered an Unforgivable. "It has to be this way," Hermione explained to them. "Voldemort was about to kill me, Peter, _and_ Regulus. If Snape doesn't malign me to Dumbledore, his life might be the fourth one on the line. I messed up. I made Voldemort and the other Death Eaters too suspicious. The only way I could remain in a position to get the Horcrux was to appear completely committed to their side."

"So you have to let Dumbledore believe you're our enemy?" Remus asked.

"Not just Dumbledore," Regulus spoke for the first time, making Remus and Lily jump, "all of you." Remus blinked.

"All of us?" Remus repeated, going very pale.

"While she remains close to any of you, she's in the way of Wormtail's spy work against you, and she's too much of a threat," Regulus explained. "We told the Dark Lord about the fight she had with you, Remus. We convinced him that if Dumbledore was also given reason to reject her, it wouldn't be long before all of you believed she had betrayed you."

"So you have to hold up your end, Remus," Hermione said imploringly. "You have to act as though you're still angry with me—furious, even. You'll also have to tell the others that you found out I'm working for the Death Eaters. James, Sirius, Frank, Alice, Molly—they all have to think I'm their enemy. You as well, Lily."

"Hermione," Remus whispered, looking devastated, "I can't… I can't do that to you…"

"You have to, Remus," Hermione said firmly, though she also looked crushed.

"You made all of us love you, Hermione," Lily said softly, starting to cry. "If the others believe it was all a lie, they'll hate you. Especially if Severus is the one who gives you up to Dumbledore—to think that _he's_ on their side and _you_ betrayed them, it will crush them. And for Molly, pregnant with her second son—Charlie, right?" Lily blinked when she saw the look that crossed Hermione's face at the mention of that name. Hermione had worn the same expression right after Molly had told her that she was pregnant, right before she, Hermione, had run out of the room in tears.

"Hermione, what happened?" Lily whispered worriedly. Regulus looked between Lily, Remus, and Hermione, surprised.

"You haven't told them?" Regulus asked Hermione.

"Haven't had the chance before now," Hermione told Regulus. "It was the real reason I was so upset earlier," she said to Lily and Remus. She opened her mouth to continue but her breath caught in her chest. Her eyes shone with tears again, and she forced herself to take a deep breath. Regulus gripped her shoulder comfortingly.

"I can tell them, Hermione," Regulus said. Hermione sniffed. She stared at Regulus for a moment, then she nodded. Regulus looked back over at Remus and Lily. "The Death Eaters, in her time, found the Weasleys," he said. Remus and Lily instantly looked sick. "Harry, Ron, and most of the Order flew to Hogwarts to protect them. A huge fight broke out, and Harry and Ron broke away from the group to try and hide the Weasley kids inside the Chamber of Secrets. They were caught by a group of Death Eaters before they could all make it inside. Harry, Ginny, and Charlie Weasley were cornered. Charlie sacrificed himself so Harry and Ginny could make it inside the Chamber. Wormtail killed him." The room was deathly silent. Hermione, Lily, and Remus were all crying slow, mournful tears.

"Charlie's dead?" Lily whispered. Hermione nodded.

"That's why finding out Molly that was pregnant upset you so much," Remus said softly, his fists clenched tightly. "She's carrying the son of hers that was just killed in your time, killed by Peter…" Cold fury mixed with great pain in Remus' face. A kind of hate like no other seemed to bubble beneath his skin. "He betrayed James and Lily to their deaths," he whispered. "Then he killed one of Molly and Arthur's children with his own hand… I'LL KILL _HIM_!"

"REMUS, NO!" Hermione screamed as Remus ran toward the door. Regulus darted ahead of him and blocked the door. Hermione grabbed hold of Remus from behind, her arms locking across his chest. Lily jumped in front of Remus and grabbed his arms, helping Hermione restrain him. "Remus, you have to act like _I'm_ the traitor," Hermione said pleadingly. "You aren't supposed to know about what Peter is going to do! You aren't supposed to know about any of it! You're supposed to be angry with _me_!"

Remus stopped struggling against Hermione and Lily. His body remained tense and his breathing heavy. Once Lily and Hermione had both released him, he turned around to face Hermione. There was so much hurt in his eyes as he looked down at her, Hermione could barely stand to hold his gaze. "How can I knowingly make our friends feel about you the way I feel about Peter, right now?" Remus asked her. Hermione turned away from Remus and walked over to her bottomless bag. She pulled out the same picture she'd shown Lily: The picture of Harry, Ron, and all the other students in Dumbledore's Army practicing Patronus Charms. She walked back over to Remus and handed the picture to him. Remus took the picture with a shaking hand.

"By thinking of them," Hermione said.

"YOU TWO-FACED SNAKE!" Molly shrieked when Hermione entered the girls' dormitory after her afternoon Herbology class. Hermione barely dodged the book Molly threw at her seconds later. "So, _that's_ where you were always sneaking off to! You wolf in sheep's clothing, we trusted you!" Molly tossed another book at Hermione. Hermione drew her wand.

"Protego!" Hermione shouted and the book was deflected by her Shield Charm. Molly glared at her. Hermione tried her best to reflect the look of disdain, though it pained her to do it. "I came to have a bath before dinner," Hermione said, after a tense moment. "Last I checked, that's not a crime."

"Your presence in Gryffindor Tower is a crime," Molly said coldly. "You belong in the dungeons, with the rest of the Slytherin scum." Hermione said nothing, afraid her voice might give away just how much Molly's words stung. Molly couldn't know the truth. Hermione forced her face to appear indifferent and walked into the bathroom. She pulled her two-way mirror out of her bag as soon as she'd shut and locked the door. She needed to speak to her real friends again.

* * *

Harry and Ron both felt sick by the time they'd finished speaking with Hermione. Their plan had come way too close to being ruined. Hermione had been taken to a Death Eater meeting, to Voldemort, and had only survived the encounter by consenting to let Snape ruin her reputation with her friends, so he could gain Dumbledore's trust. What if Snape didn't end up double-crossing Voldemort like he was supposed to? Was Snape placed on the correct course, or had a terrible mistake been made that would completely alter past, present, and future when Hermione returned and the Glitch was broken? Such consequences were unthinkable. Harry and Ron jumped a foot in the air when the Snape from their time suddenly spoke from behind them.

"Did Granger just contact you again?" He asked, his eyes on the two-way mirror still clutched in Harry's hand. Neither Harry nor Ron actually registered what Snape said. They were staring, dumbstruck and confused, at the person beside Snape: Draco Malfoy. A couple seconds later, Harry and Ron both launched themselves at Draco, tackling him to the floor before he or Snape could react. Snape quickly drew his wand and waved it in a long arc, down toward the pile of three young wizards. They all flew apart as though they'd each been launched out of separate cannons, all three of them colliding with a different wall.

"Save your energy for your _enemies_ ," Snape said firmly, "all three of you. You're all on the same side now."

"What?!" Ron blurted out, staring at Snape like he'd just uttered a very sick joke. " _Him_ , on _our_ side?! He helped Voldemort and the other Death Eaters hunt down my family! He's part of the reason Charlie's dead!"

"I didn't mean for him to die!" Draco suddenly shouted, looking so genuinely hurt and upset that Ron was stunned into silence again. "I didn't mean for anyone to get killed!" Draco continued, "The Dark Lord threatened to kill me if I didn't help him find your family and catch your sister! I had no choice! I didn't know what else to do! I didn't know how my mother really died, or that Snape was really on your side, or that Dumbledore was still alive, or I would've tried to get out of all of it ages ago!" Harry and Ron were both staring at Draco in a stunned silence. He had never looked so vulnerable, not even when Harry had seen him crying in Myrtle's bathroom. "I never wanted to become a Death Eater in the first place," Draco continued softly. "I was scared. I… I'm sorry…"

Though Draco's discomfort in saying those last words was evident on his face and in his voice, he'd meant them. Harry and Ron were completely disarmed by them. Not knowing what to say to Draco, or Ron for that matter, Harry turned back to Snape.: "Yes, we just spoke with Hermione," he said. "She might be in trouble, though. We need to talk." Snape raised an eyebrow in question.

* * *

Lily and Remus took off toward the Room of Requirement as soon as James and Sirius left for quidditch practice. Molly, Frank, and Alice had all gone along to watch, so Remus and Lily finally had a chance to go meet up with Hermione again. Lily pulled the Protean Charm coin Hermione had given her out of her robes once she and Remus were inside the Room of Requirement, signaling Hermione with it. Hermione and Regulus both arrived at the room about ten minutes later.

"Regulus and I will have to act within the next couple days," Hermione said before she and Regulus had even stepped completely through the door. "Voldemort keeps summoning all the Death Eaters. Regulus has already been to see him three times in the past four days. I think Voldemort still suspects that something is up. If Regulus keeps having to go meet up with him, I'm going to run out of time. Regulus?" Regulus still hadn't closed the door. He was looking suspiciously up and down the hall outside.

"Making sure we weren't followed," Regulus said. "I could've sworn I heard footsteps behind us a couple times. Nothing out there, though." Regulus finally closed the door and turned to face Lily and Remus. Lily gasped.

"What happened?" She said, staring at Regulus' black eye.

"Fight practice with the other Death Eaters, at our last meeting," Regulus said bleakly. "I actually looked a lot worse, by the end of it. I'm a fair fighter, but that's the first time I've ever had most of the others gang up on me all at once." Lily and Remus cringed.

"They might've let up a little sooner if you'd kept your mouth shut," Hermione said grimly.

"You didn't hear what they were saying about you, Hermione," Regulus said exasperatedly, "and no, I'm not going to tell you." Hermione frowned, but she didn't push the subject. She and Regulus had clearly had this conversation before.

"So, what can we do to help?" Remus asked.

"I'll need to contact Harry once more before we go," Hermione answered, "to confirm what exactly we'll have to do to reach the Horcrux. You two will have to be sure you have your time's Marauder's Map when we go. You'll need to create a diversion if anyone tries to follow us. I'll have the map from my time, of course. I'll take everything of mine along in my bag."

"Why would you do that?" Remus asked abruptly, looking worried.

"I shouldn't come back here once I've destroyed the Horcrux with Regulus," Hermione said. Remus and Lily both immediately opened their mouths to protest, but Hermione spoke first. "My time with the Glitch is almost up, anyway," she said. "Besides, I need to get back to my own time, to Harry and Ron. Whatever problems the Voldemort in _this_ time is causing, _he's_ not going to be mortal. The Voldemort in _my_ time, twenty-one years from now, is the one Harry, Ron, and I have to kill."

"And Hermione doesn't need to see what happens to me," Regulus said. "I don't want her to watch me die." Everyone in the room shifted uncomfortably.

"Thank you, Regulus," Lily said softly. "You're being so brave about this. For what it's worth, I know Sirius would be proud of you if he knew. He'd be proud to be your brother."

"Thanks, Lily" Regulus said. "That means a lot." Lily smiled at Regulus warmly. Remus smiled too.

"The others would all be proud of you," Remus said. "We misjudged you. I'm sorry." Regulus nodded understandingly to Remus.

"Thanks" he said. Hermione shifted and everyone looked over at her. She blinked and changed the subject.

"I'm leaving the two-way mirror and the Protean Charm coin I gave you, Lily," she said.

"You're leaving the mirror?" Lily asked Hermione, surprised.

"I put a spell on it that will make it shatter when the Glitch breaks entirely, so a third mirror isn't left here when Sirius already has two," Hermione said. "I read more about that too: In Flamel's book, it shows a few notes written by Garus—If someone in this time utilizes time travel, a partial break referred to as the 'Catch in the Glitch' will occur and that person's future self will remember everything I've done here in this time, up until the point at which their past self used time travel. They'll remember the rest of it at the same time as everyone else, when the Glitch is broken entirely by my return to my real time, or within forty-eight hours of my death, should the unthinkable happen."

"Why do we _need_ the mirror, though?" Lily asked.

"Once Regulus and I leave to go after the Horcrux, I'll signal you every half-hour with the coins," Hermione answered. "If I miss a check-in, that will mean that something has gone wrong, and you'll need to use the mirror to tell Harry and Ron…" Hermione choked slightly and her eyes glistened with tears.

"Hermione…" Lily whispered and she stepped forward to hug Hermione snugly.

"If something does go wrong, I'll still get the Horcrux," Hermione whispered. "Whatever happens, I will destroy that Horcrux. If I don't make it back to my time, you have to make sure Harry and Ron go on. They have to finish it, no matter what…"

"Okay, Hermione," Lily said. "I know you'll be okay, but if you aren't, I'll do it. I'll keep the plan going. I promise." Hermione sniffed loudly and she and Lily separated.

"Regulus and I already planted the note in Flamel's book, and Regulus took it back to Grimmauld," Hermione said. "I brought the note Harry found in the decoy Horcrux with me too. There's no need for Regulus to write a note I already have with me. I can just put the note I already have inside the decoy."

"Which I also brought from Grimmauld," Regulus said, referring to the actual locket the note would be left with. Lily and Remus both nodded their understanding. Hermione checked Garus' watch for the time.

"We should go," she said. "Everyone is going to be out in the halls soon, heading for dinner. We can't risk being seen together." Lily and Remus both nodded and they led the way out of the room. Regulus and Hermione waited about five minutes before they also left the room. Regulus kicked out, seemingly randomly, as they stepped through the door and allowed it to vanish behind them.

"Did you feel that?" He asked Hermione. She blinked.

"You were trying to kick _me_?" Hermione asked, confused.

"No," Regulus said, laughing slightly as he realized how strange his behavior was appearing to her, though his expression quickly turned serious again. "I felt something brush against my leg as we were coming out the door," he said, looking up and down the hall but only seeing a few students passing by. "You didn't feel it?" Hermione shook her head, staring at Regulus worriedly. Regulus scanned the hall once more, but seeing nothing he shrugged it off. "Forget I mentioned it," he said to Hermione, "let's go."

"Not to the Great Hall," Hermione said as they walked down the empty hallway. I don't think I can handle that tonight. Besides, I should take advantage of the time to check back with Harry and Ron once more, so we'll know exactly what to do. Let's go up to the Astronomy Tower."

Regulus and Hermione weren't the only students who didn't go to the Great Hall for dinner. Snape, Bellatrix, and Lucius were seated together at a table in a dark corner of the library. They were sitting in a strangely tense silence until Lucius jumped slightly and kicked out at something invisible on the ground. "Change back first, Wormtail," Lucius hissed softly, "then we'll remove the charm."

Once Pettigrew had returned to his human form, Snape waved his wand and silently dispelled the Disillusionment Charm on the animagus. Seeing his expression, Bellatrix laughed and started to ask if he'd run into a hungry cat. Pettigrew cut her off. "You were right," he said urgently.

"What?" Bellatrix asked, her mocking smile dissolving.

"Hermione isn't the one helping Regulus," Pettigrew said, "Regulus is helping her. Both of them were just meeting with Remus and Lily in a room that appeared out of nowhere. I followed them into it. You won't believe all I just heard. We have to go tell the Dark Lord!"

"Tell the Dark Lord what?" Snape pressed.

" _Hermione is from a different time_!" Pettigrew nearly squealed.

"What?!" Snape, Bellatrix, and Lucius all spoke at once.

"She's from twenty-one years in the future!" Pettigrew continued, "A future where she and some friends of hers have figured out how to kill the Dark Lord! She mentioned something about Regulus helping her destroy a Horcrux, whatever that is. Remus and Lily are in on it too, but I don't think anyone else knows. _We have to tell the Dark Lord_!" Bellatrix, Snape, and Lucius didn't need any more explanation. They were on their feet in seconds and they hurtled out of the library, Pettigrew struggling to keep up, bringing up the rear.

Hermione tucked her two-way mirror back into her bag once she'd finished speaking with Harry and Ron. She stood up and moved to stand by Regulus. He was standing by one of the telescopes, frowning down at something on the ground far below. Hermione blinked when she saw Snape, Bellatrix, Lucius, and Pettigrew, running in the direction of the front gates. "Did your Mark burn?" She asked Regulus.

"No," Regulus said, "but that's got to be where they're headed. I had a feeling we weren't alone earlier. We might've been found out. You'd better signal Lily and Remus. We have to go now. We need to go destroy the Horcrux tonight."

"Tonight?" Hermione repeated, staggered by the readiness in his voice and face. "But, Regulus, you—"

"Don't say it," Regulus interrupted. "Don't say it now, don't say it later. I'm ready to do whatever I have to do. Just don't talk about it. Don't say goodbye either. Whatever happens, you just go on and finish what you started." Though Regulus was trying to appear calm and collected, he was beginning to choke on his words, his anxiety strangling him. He opened his mouth to say more, but his breath caught in his chest when Hermione suddenly hugged him. She hugged him close and tightly, her strength startling him at first. He wrapped his arms around her and held her with all his strength, his face in her hair, the fresh pine scent from the Pensive Perfume calling him to a home he'd never known.

Even though Regulus knew about Ron now, Hermione still felt a little guilty for the affection she showed Regulus. She felt even worse about the fact that she was still questioning her relationship with Ron. In this time, she missed him and worried about him and Harry constantly, but she kept thinking there was something missing. She kept expecting something to happen that would tell her, for sure, if she and Ron were going to work out, but no such thing had happened. Regulus told her not to say goodbye, and she didn't want to. He didn't deserve to die. His life could have been so different.

"I should probably shrink the bag down, so it can fit in my pocket," Hermione thought out loud, stepping back, "and I'll wear the decoy locket."

* * *

Peter stumbled backward and collapsed onto the dusty floor. He pushed himself up quickly and stood between Snape and Bellatrix. Voldemort had been livid enough when Peter had explained that Hermione was from the future, but the moment the word 'Horcrux' was spoken, he'd assaulted Peter with Legilimency.

"Of course the girl didn't mention which Horcrux she's here for," Voldemort spoke more to himself than the four young Death Eaters in front of him. Lucius shifted uncomfortably.

"My Lord," he spoke softly, "if I may ask? What is a Horcrux?"

" _No, you may not ask_ ," Voldemort hissed. "Hold out your arm!" Lucius promptly held out his left arm and pulled up the sleeve of his robes, exposing the Dark Mark on his forearm. Voldemort touched the tip of his wand to it and all four of the Death Eaters before him winced slightly as their Marks burned. A series of sweeping and popping sounds could be heard a moment later, signaling the arrival of the older Death Eaters Apparating just outside the manor. By the time the last one of them had walked into the hall, another round of similar noises signaled the arrival of the other young Death Eaters from Hogwarts. Voldemort bore down on them the moment they entered the hall.

"Where is Regulus Black?!" He demanded, striding down the hall toward the students, barely acknowledging the older Death Eaters as they scattered out of his way, staring at Snape, Lucius, Peter, and Bellatrix. "He came with you, didn't he?!" Voldemort demanded again, glaring at all the cowering students in Slytherin robes.

"N-No, my Lord," Nott stammered nervously. "We tried to find him, but the last time any of us saw him was when he left for dinner with Granger."

"What happened, my Lord?" Rodolphus asked in a voice that was forced calm.

"Regulus betrayed us!" Bellatrix said angrily, making no attempt to disguise her disgust at her cousin's behavior.

"What?!" Several stunned and angry voices responded, young and old.

"Hermione's from the future," Peter spoke more timidly. "In the future, she and her friends are close to killing the Dark Lord, but she had to come back to this time to get Regulus to help her destroy a—"

"Crucio!" Peter yelped in pain and fell to the floor. Voldemort lifted his curse quickly. " _Do not speak of it_! All you need to know is that Regulus and Granger must be stopped at all costs," Voldemort told all the Death Eaters. "Normally, I would want to deal with traitors like Regulus personally, but not now. There is no time for that. Regulus is to be disposed of as quickly as possible. Granger, however, is to be brought back to me alive. She and I have much to discuss before I kill her…" Everyone in the room shuddered. There was a dark and malevolent hunger in their master's voice—a thirst for pain and blood that even the senior Death Eaters were shaken by. However much any of them hated Granger, even their stone hearts were compelled to pity the girl for what would happen to her, should they catch her.

"Regulus wouldn't risk not coming here when summoned unless he believed we knew the truth," Snape said. "He and Granger must suspect they've been found out."

"If that's true, we could already be too late," Bellatrix said. "If Regulus and Granger have already left, we may never catch them."

"Wormtail," Voldemort's voice whipped, "take all the students except Snape, Bellatrix, and Lucius back to Hogwarts and search the place for Regulus and Granger. You know all the secret passages throughout the grounds. Check them all. Since Lily Evans and Remus Lupin seem to be in on all this, track them down too. Forget caution and inhibition. Pick off anyone who seems to be involved. Make them tell you where Regulus and Granger are headed."

"Yes, my Lord," Peter nearly squeaked and he rushed toward the hall doors, all the young Death Eaters but Snape, Bellatrix, and Lucius following him.

"Rosier," Voldemort said, turning to the group of older Death Eaters, "take your older fellows and guard all the exits from the school grounds. Stop anyone who tries to escape."

"Yes, M'Lord," Rosier responded much more calmly than Peter had and led the pack of older Death Eaters out of the hall, where they Disapparated.

"And you three," Voldemort said, turning to face Snape, Lucius, and Bellatrix, "go down into the storage room and find a time-turner in a green box. It is broken, but should have one use in it, enough to travel at least half an hour back in time. We'll catch those two, one way or another."

"Yes, my Lord," the three young Death Eaters chorused and sped out of the hall, toward the storage room.

"There," Lily told an anxious looking Remus, "the coin just felt hot. Hermione and Regulus are safe. They must have left the grounds by now." Remus nodded and touched a finger to the coin in Lily's hand, feeling its relieving warmth himself. He and Lily were heading up the stairs, toward Gryffindor Tower. Just as they reached the top, their path was cut off.

"Where are they?" Peter demanded with an abnormal air of confidence, likely due to the fact that a group of angry Slytherin Death Eaters were flanking him, their wands drawn and aimed at Lily and Remus. Lily closed her fist tightly around the coin in her left hand and drew her own wand with the other. Remus mimicked her movements.

"Not on your life, Wormtail," Lily said coldly. "Rats like you aren't good enough to touch them!"

"Have it your way, Mudblood," Peter said equally harshly, raising his own wand to chest height.

"Expelliarmus!" Five unexpected voices shouted and Remus and Lily dodged out of the way as all the Death Eaters were blasted down the staircase behind them, their wands flying in every direction. James, Sirius, Molly, Alice, and Frank were all standing just behind where the Death Eaters had been, their wands drawn and held steady.

"You back-stabbing scum!" Sirius growled at Peter, starting to run down the stairs after him, but Remus grabbed his arm.

"Not now, Sirius!" Remus said urgently, "Go to Dumbledore's office!" Remus released Sirius and looked up at his other friends. "All of you, now!" He ordered.

"We'll explain later," Lily added, striding forward and grabbing hold of James' arm. "Let's go!" Remus and Lily led their friends at a run. They almost ran into Narcissa as she came out of the library. Remus continued to lead the other Gryffindors onward, but Lily halted abruptly.

"Narcissa, come with us!" She panted and everyone but Remus gaped at her, including Narcissa.

"What?" Narcissa almost laughed, "Why would I—"

"Hermione's in trouble!" Lily interrupted. Narcissa blinked and her expression changed immediately.

"What happened?!" Narcissa asked anxiously, but she was distracted by the sound of shouts and running footsteps coming toward their group.

"No time!" Remus said, grabbing one of Narcissa's hands. "Come on!" Remus pulled Narcissa forward and Lily urged all her other confused friends on. They all jumped when several spells crashed into the wall behind them. They dashed around the corner and down another hall, finally reaching the gargoyle outside Dumbledore's office.

"Metamorphmagi," James said the password as quietly as he could, so their pursuers wouldn't hear it. The group of Gryffindors and Narcissa sped around the gargoyle as it cleared the path to Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore opened the door for them before they could reach out to knock on it. Their pounding footsteps had been warning enough of their coming. The Headmaster didn't even seem surprised to see all the Gryffindors piling into his office, even at the late time of night. His gaze became more calculating when he saw Narcissa.

"Ms. Black, good evening," he spoke politely before the shouts of the angry young Death Eaters below confirmed that the students before him had more urgent needs than usual. "What happened?" He asked the group calmly. All eyes turned to Lily and Remus. Lily hesitated, choosing her words carefully.

"We can't really say much just yet, Professor," she said. "Only Remus and I know everything about it, but we can't tell you now. All we can say is Hermione is on our side. She's been pretending otherwise, as have Remus and I, to protect her and Regulus."

"Regulus?!" Sirius and Narcissa spoke at the same time. They exchanged wide-eyed glances then, mildly horrified that they'd said the same thing at once.

"He's on our side too," Remus said. Sirius and Narcissa gaped at him.

"Regulus and Hermione betrayed the Dark Lord?!" Narcissa asked fearfully. "He'll kill them!"

"Exactly," Lily said. "That's why those Death Eaters attacked us."

"They've obviously worked out the truth," Remus said. "They were looking for Hermione and Regulus, but they're already gone."

"Gone?" Almost every voice in the room chorused.

"Gone where?" Molly asked, but Lily shook her head.

"We can't tell you anything else right now," Lily said. "Right now, all we can do is stay away from the Death Eaters and keep an eye on this." Lily held up the coin in her left hand. "Hermione put a Protean Charm on it, so she can signal us as long as she's still safe. She has another coin with her."

"You should stay with us too, Narcissa," Remus said gently, trying to keep her as calm as possible. "I'm sure Hermione would want you to be here. You don't have to say or do anything that might get you into more trouble with your friends or Voldemort. Just stay with us?" Narcissa stared nervously at everyone around her before she responded.

"Hermione and Regulus are my friends, too," she said softly. "I'll stay."

"Good," Lily said, grabbing one of Narcissa's hands and giving it a comforting squeeze. "You'll be safe here. That's what Hermione and Regulus would want."

"Lily, what should we do with this?" Remus asked as he pulled the two-way mirror that Hermione had left behind out of the pocket of is robes.

"How did you get that?" Sirius asked, recognizing the object. "I always lock both of those two-way mirrors in an invisible trunk I got at Zonko's."

"Both of those mirrors are still in that trunk," Remus responded honestly, not knowing what else to say.

"But, I recognize—" Sirius began, but Lily cut him off.

"Later, Sirius. Oh!" Lily glanced down at the coin in her hand. "Another signal from Hermione! Has it been thirty minutes already?"

"I guess so," Remus said. "They've probably found the cave by now."

"Cave?" Narcissa asked.

"Later," All the Gryffindors and Dumbledore chorused before Lily or Remus could answer. Lily laughed half-heartedly and looked down at the coin again.

"You can do it, Hermione…"

* * *

Hermione wiped her own blood off the coin in her hand and stuffed it into the pocket of her robes. She and Regulus were both crouched down behind a large rock, panting and trying to quickly heal what wounds they could. Voldemort, Snape, Bellatrix, and Lucius had come out of nowhere. Hermione and Regulus had just begun Disapparating to the cliffs above the cave when their four enemies had jumped out of the shadows and grabbed hold of them. Hermione and Regulus had barely managed to shake their captors off , landing in a clearing about two miles from the cliffs, nearly splinching in the process. Their pursuers had fallen into the clearing too, attacking without pause.

Regulus and Hermione had thought they would be able to reach the cave before Voldemort and the Death Eaters could even begin to respond. How could they have caught up so quickly? Hermione and Regulus had struggled to evade their deadly pursuers for half an hour before they had been able to find decent shelter. Hearing footsteps nearby, they dared not make a dash for the cave. As it was, it was a miracle that Voldemort hadn't recognized the area. He had yet to realize they were near the cave. Enraged to the point of distraction, apparently. The sound of footsteps grew louder and Hermione and Regulus both held their breath when they heard Bellatrix's voice. "This terrain is so rough, they could be hiding anywhere," she said. "REGULUS!" She called out loudly. "WHY ARE YOU HIDING FROM YOUR COUSIN?! I JUST WANT TO TALK!"

Hermione grabbed one of Regulus' hands and held it tightly.

"Who knew those two had it in them?" Lucius said, "Avoiding us this long? If we hadn't used that time-turner, we might've never tracked them down."

Regulus and Hermione exchanged horrified glances. Voldemort, Snape, Bellatrix, and Lucius had used a time-turner! They'd tripped the Catch in the Glitch!

* * *

Draco and Rodolphus were helping Snape, Bellatrix, and Lucius to their feet. A few feet away, Wormtail was helping Voldemort back up as well. Minutes ago, Voldemort and the three Death Eaters had collapsed. They had remained conscious but briefly immobilized by what seemed to be terrible, dizzying headaches. After a minute or two, the headaches seemed to end as abruptly as they'd begun. Bellatrix, Lucius, Snape, and Voldemort still seemed a little disoriented.

"What the hell was that all about?" Dolohov asked them, "What happened to all of you?"

"I think you'll know soon enough," Lucius said, pressing his fingers to the spot between his eyes where a vague headache still lingered.

"How did that little Mudblood pull that trick off?" Bellatrix asked, looking over at Voldemort. "All my memories of seventh year just changed."

Both fear and fury seemed to smoke off Voldemort's skin. "It must be the Garus Glitch. Haname Garus created it about three years after I graduated from Hogwarts. It was confiscated by the Ministry three years later, but I still remember most of what it involved. I once spoke with Garus herself about it…" Voldemort trailed off, deep in thought. Bellatrix was about to ask him more about the Glitch when he spoke again.

"It all makes sense now," he said. "We haven't been able to find Granger because she is twenty-one years back in time, having used the Garus Glitch. It seems that the 'missing' Horcrux wasn't missing at all, but it was destroyed in the past. Granger went back to make sure it was done. I could give all of you a better explanation of how it works, but only three of you would understand right now. You will all understand soon enough. Severus, Bellatrix, Lucius, and I only remember now because our past selves tripped the Catch in the Glitch—"

"But what about the rest of it?!" Lucius interrupted, clearly shaken by all that he'd just remembered. "The last thing I remember is the four of us using the broken time-turner to go after Granger and Regulus!"

"Regulus?!" Several voices in the room chorused.

"Regulus Black?" Draco asked. There was an angry rumble among the older Death Eaters.

"That coward—"

"As you _wrongly_ remember him!" Voldemort hissed. "You'll also remember the truth eventually! At that same time, the four of us will remember the last part of the Glitch," Voldemort explained, glancing at Lucius, Bellatrix, and Snape. "Regulus didn't leave us out of fear. He betrayed us to help Granger!"

" _What_?!" Every Death Eater but Snape, Bellatrix, and Lucius, and Draco growled as one.

"SILENCE!" Voldemort shrieked. The room seemed to freeze in an instant. " _You'll all understand soon_! We can't control what Granger is doing in the past. We must prepare for what will happen when she returns, _if_ she returns—even if she dies, everyone who saw or heard of her will remember everything. Potter, the Weasleys, and the Order will be ready to fight the moment that happens. Lucius, take Nagini to your home and guard her. Draco, go with him. Snape, Bellatrix, go check for Order guards around the Ministry. If someone is waiting for Granger there, get rid of them. The rest of you, prepare for the fight of your lives—the end of this war is near!"

Bellatrix and Snape Disapparated immediately, while everyone else scattered to follow their own orders. They Apparated inside a dark alley near the main entrance to the Ministry. Snape's mind was reeling as he sped down the alley with Bellatrix. He couldn't believe all that he had just remembered. To say he'd underestimated Granger would be an understatement. For that matter, he'd also underestimated Pettigrew. Everyone had. He was a true Death Eater to the core. Beneath his awkward and timid exterior lurked a true monster—a liar, a traitor, and a blood-prejudiced murderer. Because of that skittish beast, Hermione had been found out. For all he knew, his own past self was about to kill Regulus and capture her, leaving her at the Dark Lord's non-existent mercy. After all, he was still loyal to the Dark Lord in the true past that he'd just remembered. He had to warn Potter, Weasley, and the Order of what he'd seen. Doing so would not help her, but it would brace her friends for what might happen. They had to be ready to push forward, even if the unthinkable did happen…

"Bellatrix, I just thought of something—a way we might be able to intercept Granger before anyone here at the Ministry can." Snape spoke suddenly. Bellatrix halted abruptly. "Go back to the hideout for a while and help some of the others prepare. We'll meet back here later." Bellatrix opened her mouth to reply, but Snape Disapparated before she could speak.

Snape Apparated outside the Hogwarts gates and ran up to the castle as fast as his legs would carry him. He ran into the Great Hall, where Harry, Ron, the other Weasleys and the entire Order, Dumbledore included, were still lingering over empty dinner plates. All conversations in the room stopped abruptly and everyone looked up at Snape, startled by his oddly timed appearance.

"The Catch in the Glitch was triggered," Snape answered their silent questions. "Lucius, Bellatrix, the Dark Lord, and I remembered Granger's presence in the past prematurely."

"Is Hermione alright, Severus?" Dumbledore asked, noting the unusual amount of anxiety in Snape's voice, though it hardly showed in his face.

"I don't know," Snape answered honestly. "The last thing I can remember is using a broken time-turner to go after her and Regulus, with Lucius, Bellatrix and the Dark Lord. We found out she was from this time. Wormtail overheard the truth while spying on her and Regulus. They had already left to go after the Horcrux, by the time we'd worked out the truth, but using the time-turner might have helped us catch them. If, by some miracle, she and Regulus make it to the Horcrux, she might not make it any farther…"

Every face in the Great Hall was deathly pale. Harry and Ron looked horribly ill. Ron gulped and looked down at the two-way mirror on the table in front of him. A tear fell from his stinging eyes and splashed across the glass.

"Hermione…"

* * *

After what felt like hours, Regulus and Hermione could no longer hear the voices of Voldemort, Snape, Bellatrix, and Lucius. Their four pursuers had proceeded along a different path without spotting their quarry. The shaken pair climbed out of their hiding spot and resumed their course toward the cliffs. Though she tried to remain as calm as possible, Hermione's hands shook as they walked. She started to hide them in her pockets, but Regulus grabbed one of them with his own. Hermione gasped and her eyes glistened with tears.

"It'll be okay, Hermione," Regulus said softly. "Even if they know you're here now, they can't do anything about it. We're going to destroy that Horcrux and get you back to your time, and you're going to win this war. I know you will."

"No you don't, Regulus," Hermione whispered. "You can't know what will happen—maybe we'll be able to kill Voldemort, but what if—"

"Stupefy!"

Hermione and Regulus both dove to the ground and Hermione screamed as large rock exploded into sharp-edged pieces that rained down on her and Regulus. Hermione quickly shot her Patronus down toward Voldemort, Bellatrix, Lucius, and Snape. She and Regulus scrambled to their feet and charged toward the cliffs ahead of them.

Regulus and Hermione both stumbled when the ground beneath them shook violently. Hermione whirled around and saw Voldemort bearing down on them, the ground continuing to shake under his power. His eyes locked onto hers and she froze. Her mind screamed at her to run, but her body wouldn't move. Voldemort had her. She couldn't escape, until…

"Avis!"

Birds darted out of Regulus' wand and flew at Voldemort, attacking his face and breaking his eye contact with Hermione. She could move again. She shot her Patronus toward Voldemort and the three Death Eaters again. Regulus grabbed her free hand and pulled her onward, toward the cliffs. The ground stopped shaking, but their enemies were still gaining on them.

"Hermione, we have to go somewhere else!" Regulus shouted over the explosion of a couple more curses that narrowly missed them. "If we go any closer to the cave, he'll realize where we're going! We have to throw them off! Change course!"

"This way!" Hermione shouted and made and abrupt right turn. Regulus followed close behind her. Hermione risked running uphill, toward a densely forested area just north of where the cliffs dropped of into the ocean, where they would have to swim to reach the cave. Just as they reached the trees, Bellatrix aimed one more curse at Regulus.

"Sectumsempra!"

"NO!" Hermione screamed and whirled around, but too late. Regulus' blood sprayed across her clothes and her face. Regulus keeled over, clutching at the deep cuts across his body. He rolled over and his watery, emerald green eyes looked into Hermione's glistening brown ones.

"Run, Hermione…" Regulus whispered weakly and a tear rolled from his eyes, mixing with the blood on his face. Hermione choked on her own tears. Her stunned, devastated gaze held Regulus' pained, longing gaze for another moment, and then she sped into the trees, hiding amongst the dense brush and branches. She held her breath as she heard Bellatrix's voice, as she approached Regulus with Snape and Lucius coming up behind her.

"Truly impressive curse, Snape," Bellatrix said with chilling calm. "I hope you don't mind my borrowing it this time."

"Not at all, Bellatrix," Snape's voice spoke evenly. "Just don't make a habit of it."

"Fat chance," Hermione heard Regulus choke out defiantly. Hermione winced when she heard Regulus yelp as Lucius kicked him.

"Blood-traitor scum!" Lucius spat, "You chose _her_ over _us_?"

"Don't waste his last breaths on pointless questions, Malfoy!" Voldemort hissed as he approached the Death Eaters standing around Regulus. "He has minutes left at most. Snape, you stay here and take advantage of that time. Use Legilimency if you can sustain it well enough. Lucius, Bellatrix, we'll continue to look for Granger. She is of far more value to us than this pathetic traitor."

"Yes, M'Lord," Snape, Lucius, and Bellatrix replied. Hermione gasped for breath, strangled by her tears, and she forced herself to turn away and run. She sped through the trees as tears splashed down her face. She made her way back toward the cliffs without even realizing she was doing it. When she reached the steep drop-off into the ocean, she jumped without a flinch or pause. Landing in the icy water from such a high drop felt like crashing through glass. The cold waves bit at her skin like needles, washing away Regulus' blood and making her robes heavy and binding. She clutched at Regulus' locket around her neck, terrified of losing it. After a couple minutes of hard swimming, she saw the cave.

Hermione swam into the cave and dragged herself out of the water, onto the cool, rocky ground inside. She was soaking wet and freezing, but she barely noticed. She was sobbing uncontrollably. She fumbled with Regulus' locket and pried it open with fingers that were numb from the cold. She pulled out Regulus' note to Voldemort—the note Harry would find inside the locket years later, signed 'R.A.B.'. Hermione nearly screamed in agony as she realized that she never actually needed Regulus. She had brought the note with her from her time. She could've stolen the locket from Grimmauld herself, or brought it from her time too. She would've ended up in the exact same position, but Regulus wouldn't be bleeding to death back by the forest above the cliffs. She never would have cared for him so much. She had grown so close to him, and she was devastated by his unnecessary death. He was dying for her, but she never needed to get him involved.

Hermione didn't think it was possible for her heart to hurt so much. She wanted to die, and she probably would, she realized, feeling another stab of pain in her chest at the thought of never returning home. She had to destroy the Horcrux alone. She had to drink that horrible potion it was immersed in herself, and if she touched the water near it, the inferi would devour her. She wouldn't be able to defend herself alone. Hermione reached into the pocket of her robes, grasping for the Protean Charm coin, but it was gone, as was her shrunken bottomless bag. She realized they must have fallen out in the water, but it didn't matter. She had told Lily what not receiving a signal would likely mean: She, Hermione, was dead. That was surely as it would be. Hermione closed the note back inside Regulus' locket and pushed herself to her feet. She muttered an Air-Dry Charm to dry her robes and hair, and she wiped away the tears running down her cheeks. She steeled herself and walked deeper into the cave. She had to destroy the Horcrux, no matter what…


	23. Memories

Regulus made no attempt to shield his mind from Snape's Legilimency. Even if he wasn't mere breaths away from death, he wouldn't resist. He _wanted_ Snape to see everything. He let Snape see and hear all that had passed between him and Hermione. The last memory Snape saw was of Hermione telling Regulus everything about her life in her real time, including all that he, Snape, had done for her side in the war. Snape finally released Regulus from the spell and stared down at him, stunned.

"That's why she had to save you," Regulus whispered, a sickening gargling sound coming from his throat. "You're on her side… You're a hero… You're far better than all this…" Snape stared at Regulus for another moment, dumbstruck, then he abruptly kneeled beside Regulus and aimed his wand at Regulus' wounds, intending to try to heal him. Regulus grabbed the wand, his weak grip barely holding onto it. "Too late…" He breathed, "But not for her… Off the cliffs… A cave… Save her…"

"Cave?" Snape asked, "What cave? Save her, how?"

"Save her…" Regulus breathed and his eyes glazed over. His hand slipped off Snape's wand and dropped to the ground. He was dead.

* * *

The tension in Dumbledore's office could be cut with a knife. Lily's tears splashed down onto the coin in her hand. It had been an hour, and the coin was still cool. Lily's fist closed around the coin and she screamed as she threw it across the room.

"NO!" She screamed, tears splashing down her face. "She can't be dead! SHE CAN'T BE! NO! HERMIONE!" Lily collapsed to her knees. James dove forward and hugged her shaking body close, brushing her long red hair from her face. A few feet away, Sirius was awkwardly stroking Narcissa's hair as she cried into his shoulder. Dumbledore looked solemnly at all the crestfallen students before him and felt a need to refocus them on what they had been so intent on an hour before.

"Lily, Remus, can't you explain all of this to us yet?" He asked gently. "If there really are students dying over it, please, at least let us know why."

Lily sniffed loudly and pulled away from James. "Yes, we can tell you now," she said softly. "If something really has happened to Hermione, it won't matter if you know the truth anyway. None of us will remember for long. Besides, we promised Hermione we'd use the mirror to tell Harry and Ron if something went wrong."

"Harry and Ron?" James asked. Remus shook his head.

"You're jumping too far ahead," Remus said. James gave him and inquiring look. "Well," Remus continued, "since Harry is your son, we should probably start where you and Lily got married."

" _Got_ married?" Sirius said, nearly laughing at Remus' statement.

"Hermione is from the future," Lily said. Everyone but Remus gaped at her…

* * *

Hermione wanted to die. She wanted to crawl out of her skin. She still had a goblet of potion to drink to reach Slytherin's locket, but her hands were trembling so violently that she could barely keep hold of the goblet. Her body was on fire, but her skin felt cold to the touch, icy cold. Her stomach was protesting the potion in no uncertain terms and her eyes felt like they were going to pop out of her skull. Hermione screamed so loud she worried she would wake the inferi, plunging the goblet into the rest of the potion. She brought it to lips that bled and she swallowed the goblet's contents. She dropped the goblet and grabbed Slytherin's locket. Even as she sank to her knees, she drew her wand and touched it to the locket. She transfigured it into a glass plate, and she smashed it against the pedestal that held the potion with a blood curdling shriek.

Hermione fell across the cold, hard ground. Her knees curled into her chest even as her fingers fumbled with the clasp of the locket around her neck. She screamed again, but her fingers were shaking too violently to grasp the chain. She became unbearably dizzy and her vision swam in and out. She flung an arm out toward the water, but she couldn't reach it. The inferi killing her would be merciful, but she couldn't provoke them. She clawed at the rock floor, breaking some of her fingernails as terrible pain flooded through her body. She screamed once more, and everything went black…

* * *

"How can you be sure she destroyed the Horcrux?" Molly sniffed, "If she was caught—"

"Dumbledore sent her back here!" James interrupted. His voice cracked as he spoke, but his face was hard, determination shining in his eyes. He looked over at Dumbledore as he spoke again: "In the future, you sent Hermione here to destroy that Horcrux. You wouldn't have put her in so much danger for no reason. You believed she could do it, and if you believed she could do it, then we should believe she did it now." James choked slightly and looked at Lily and Remus. "Hermione gave you two a job to do, right?" He asked. Lily and Remus nodded.

"We need to tell Harry and Ron," Lily sniffed, slow tears rolling down her face. "How can we, though? How can we look into the eyes of our children and tell them their best friend isn't coming back to them? They've already lost most of us! How can we tell them they've lost Hermione, too?!"

"Because they need to know they haven't really lost any of us," Sirius said. "If we don't give them reassurance now, while we all still remember all this, while we know everything they've done, then they might think they've lost us. If we show we're still with them—if we do all we can to help them, then they'll stay strong. After all, even if we're dead in their time, you know we'll still be watching over them. There's no doubt about that! If Hermione is dead, we'll all be up there waiting for her. We'll take care of her. _They need to know that_." Sirius jumped slightly when Molly flung her arms around him and clutched him tightly, sobbing heavily into his shoulder which was already wet from Narcissa's tears.

"Sirius, you're a wonderful godfather!" Molly sobbed, "Whatever I say to you in the future, you're a wonderful godfather for Harry!"

"Thanks, Molly" Sirius said softly, hugging her back. Frank and Alice were also hugging each other. Alice was struggling not to cry. Everyone looked in their direction. Alice shrugged and half-laughed.

"Just thinking about Neville," she said. "Even if we're technically still alive in Hermione's time, we're as good as dead too. We can't even recognize our own son, Frank's mother, or any of our friends."

"Voldemort could've chosen Neville," Frank said softly, shaking his head. "Voldemort could've decided the prophecy was about Neville and killed all of us…"

"We can't do this!" Remus suddenly shouted, his fingers in his hair, tugging at the roots, "We can't do this now! We have to be strong for Harry and Ron! We've got to pull ourselves together and help them get through this!"

"Remus is right," Lily said, shaking her head. "We promised Hermione. We have to help Harry and Ron get through this." Lily walked over to Dumbledore's desk and picked up the two-way mirror that Remus had placed there earlier. She walked back to her group of friends and looked at them calculatingly. Lily drew her wand and pointed it at the mirror in her other hand.

"Engorgio," she said and the mirror quickly grew to about thirty times its original size, becoming so large and heavy that Remus had to help her hold it up. The two of them carried it over to the nearest wall and propped it up so everyone in the room was reflected in its large, glass surface. "They'll be able to see all of us now," Lily said, wiping away the last couple tears from her eyes. She and Remus backed away from the mirror and stood close to the rest of the group. Lily looked directly into the mirror and took a deep breath.

"Harry? Ron?" Lily spoke clearly, "Are you there?" The mirror became cloudy for a moment, then it showed the ceiling of the Gryffindor common room. The sight surprised Lily, but she called out again. "Ron? Harry?" She called loudly.

"Mum—er, Lily?" Harry's voice sounded. Lily's eyes promptly welled up again, and there was a collective, sharp intake of breath from everyone around her. A moment later, the image in the mirror moved and Harry and Ron's faces both came into focus. Both boys blinked and stared, stunned by everyone they saw looking back at them. "What the—"

"Use an Engorgement Charm on your mirror, Harry" Lily said. "Make it full-length, and wider." Harry nodded and drew his wand.

"Engorgio," Harry said, and the image in the mirror blurred as it expanded. When it came back into focus, Harry and Ron were, face and body, completely within the mirror's frame.

"He does look just like me," James said in a barely audible whisper as he stared at Harry.

"L-Lily, what's going on?" Ron stammered. "Why is everyone there with you? Did they _all_ find out about Hermione?" Right next to Lily, Molly gasped and her eyes welled up again. "What is it, Mum?" Ron spoke before he could stop himself. Molly let out a sob in response, and tears streamed down her face.

"Ron, Harry," Lily said softly, "I think Hermione's dead." Harry and Ron's faces went deathly white.

"W-What?" Ron whispered.

"When she and Regulus left, to go after the Horcrux earlier tonight, she said she'd check back in with us every half-hour with the Protean Charm coins," Lily said, her voice cracking as her own tears began falling again. "Hermione's missed three check-in times now. She told me and Remus to contact you with the mirror if she missed _one_ check-in and tell you to carry on without her—"

"NO!" Ron screamed and his knees buckled. His knees hit the floor and he convulsed, doubling over and vomiting on the floor in front of him. He coughed and his body trembled slightly. Harry choked out a cleansing spell to clean the floor and knelt beside Ron. Harry was trembling and crying as well. "Hermione…" Ron whispered, "You can't be dead… You can't be… Please…"

Molly was sobbing uncontrollably. Frank, Alice, and Sirius were trying to calm her, whispering soothingly and stroking her hair and back. Remus and James were both trying to keep Lily calm, too. She was faring better than Molly, but she was still crying heavily. "I'm so sorry," she said to Harry and Ron. "She told me to tell you that, no matter what happened, she _did_ destroy the Horcrux, and that she wants you two to finish it—finish what the three of you and Dumbledore started. She wanted us to encourage you, to help you end it."

"We know she'll have made sure the locket was destroyed," Harry choked out, forcing himself to look back through the mirror at Lily and all the others in Dumbledore's office. "Hermione would settle for no less…"

"You can do this, Harry," Sirius spoke suddenly, making everyone jump. "You too, Ron. Both of you _can_ end the war. You can beat Voldemort."

"Yes, you can," Dumbledore spoke up, laying a hand on Sirius' shoulder in encouragement. "I'm still there with you in your time, as are many surviving members of the Order. We'll be right there beside you two."

"And you know that we're there, too," James said. "All of us that died before your current time, are still there with you."

"Always," Lily said. "Even if you can't see us, we're there, and dead or alive, Hermione will be too. We're all with you."

"Ron, I'm so proud of you," Molly sniffed loudly. "I'm sure I've told you that a lot in your time, but I'm saying it anyway. I'm _so_ proud of you."

"We couldn't be more proud of you, Harry," James said. Lily nodded and gave Harry a watery smile. "You're brilliant and we love you."

"We all do," Sirius and Remus said.

"We all do," Frank and Alice both echoed.

"And boys, if you see our Neville again, please tell him how proud we are of him as well," Alice said. "For all he's done to help you—tell him what Frank and I can't tell him ourselves."

"We will," Ron said softly, finally collecting himself enough to speak.

"Harry, Ron," Dumbledore said, "if you're inside Hogwarts, I assume the rest of the Order is there with you? That is, at least, what Lily and Remus told us of the Order's current residence in your time?"

"They're here," Harry said. "Snape went to Malfoy Manor, to steal Nagini and get Draco out of there." Harry glanced over at Narcissa as he said those last few words and gave her a reassuring nod. Narcissa nodded back and smiled tentatively at Harry.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"Lily," Ron spoke suddenly. Lily looked at him inquiringly. "Hermione…" Ron continued softly, "I never told her… I never actually said that I…"

"I'm sure she knew, Ron," Lily said reassuringly, even though her heart broke as she spoke the lie. Hermione didn't know how Ron really felt about her. Hermione had told her that much. She never knew…

"We should go," Harry said, though saying such a thing was a knife to his heart. "Especially now that the Catch in the Glitch was tripped, we don't have time to waste."

"It will be okay, Harry," Lily sniffed. "You'll be okay…" Harry just nodded.

"Bye, Mum," Harry said. "Thanks for all your help. All of you, thanks for everything…" Everyone in Dumbledore's office, in the past, murmured their goodbyes to Harry and Ron. Then the mirror clouded over again, and all they could see in the mirror were their own reflections, each of their faces streaked with tears.

* * *

Draco and Lucius both looked up at Snape, startled, when he entered their house. Snape stared at Lucius with a strange look on his face—he looked preoccupied, tense, agitated... Lucius shifted uncomfortably. "Something wrong, Severus?" He asked, confused.

"Where is Nagini?" Snape asked him. Lucius nodded in the direction of a wall on which hung a long, thin sword. Nagini was on the floor below it, eating what might've been a living owl not too long ago. Snape nodded.

"Did the Dark Lord send you here for something, Severus?" Lucius asked, still trying to make sense of Snape's behavior, "To make sure no one else here is going to try taking the easy way out?" Lucius continued, "No, Narcissa was the only one that weak. I'm going to enjoy finally killing off those meddlesome children and their friends. It will be good for Draco, too—this will toughen him up." Lucius spoke as though Draco wasn't sitting in the same room, cringing as he watched Nagini devour her prey. Something in Snape caught fire and snapped.

"Like you tried to toughen Narcissa up?" He spat at Lucius, "Beating her up, just because you felt like it? For no reason? Hermione was right to get you back for it. You had it coming to you!"

" _Excuse me_?" Lucius spoke angrily, "You're defending that Mudblood?! Since when do you call her by her first name anyway?"

" _Since she earned it_!" Snape's voice whipped. "Muggle-born or not, she's a brilliant and brave witch _you_ weren't worthy of harming! You certainly weren't worthy of Narcissa and her son!"

"What the hell is wrong with you, Snape?!" Lucius shouted back, drawing his wand and aiming it at Snape.

"STOP IT!" Draco shouted. Lucius and Snape both turned to see Draco standing over Nagini. The snake seemed to have been knocked out by a Stunner. Draco was holding the sword from the wall with both hands. The tip of it was resting just below Nagini's skull. "Drop your wand and back away from him!" Draco shouted at his father. Lucius stared at him, stunned at first, then furious.

" _Draco_?!" Lucius spat, "My own son?! You're the traitor?!"

"Close," Snape said. Lucius turned back around to face him and he found Snape's wand within and inch of his face. "I am," Snape said calmly. "Draco only recently decided to side with me and his mother."

"Narcissa?!" Lucius spoke in spite of the wand that was almost touching his nose.

"She didn't commit suicide," Snape said softly, glaring daggers at Lucius. "She died in Dumbledore's place, using Polyjuice Potion, to save him and mislead the Dark Lord."

"Dumbledore's alive?!" Lucius said, backing away from Snape and scanning the room with fearful eyes.

"He and I have been in contact with Potter, Weasley, and Granger, all along," Snape continued calmly, though his eyes never left Lucius' face, "ever since they fled to that village outside Azkaban." Lucius stared at Snape for another moment, dumbstruck, then his eyes narrowed.

"Granger isn't coming back," Lucius nearly laughed. "It will all have been for nothing. That Mudblood isn't going to reach whatever Horcrux she went to get. She and Regulus are probably already dead—"

"Never!" Snape spat, making sparks shoot out of his wand, but Lucius looked smug and steady as ever. He raised his own wand higher, aiming it at Snape again.

"That's what changed you, was it, Severus?" Lucius drawled mockingly, "Regulus and that jumped-up little girl made you soft? Was it because she saved your life?" Snape didn't answer. Neither he nor Lucius moved for what seemed like ages. Lucius laughed again, "Too bad you won't be able to save her. Avada—"

"Avada Kedavra!" Snape shouted. Draco's voice cried out as a flash of bright green light illuminated the room. When the light flickered out, Snape strode past Lucius' dead body, toward Draco. The young Malfoy had released the sword and was crouched down behind a nearby table, his arms shielding his face. Snape gently pulled Draco up to his feet.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Draco," Snape began, but Draco wasn't looking at his father's body. He was staring at Nagini. Snape followed Draco's gaze until he too saw the pool of blood around the snake. The sword Draco had dropped had fallen across the massive snake had left a deep gash in its body. Snape's eyes widened and he waved his wand at the serpent, striking it with a short jet of light. It didn't stir. Nagini wasn't unconscious. She was dead.

"She did it," Snape said more to himself than Draco. "She destroyed the Horcrux! Granger made it!" Snape felt slightly light-headed. He hadn't realized just how worried he'd been about Hermione and that Horcrux. He became a little dizzy from the amount of relief that washed over him as he thought that she might still be alive. "Draco," he said, snapping out of his daze, "Apparate to the school gates and get inside the castle! Tell the Order what's happened! Tell them _all_ the Horcruxes are destroyed and I've gone to the Ministry to make sure it's safe for Granger's return! She might still make it!" Draco nodded a little frantically and Disapparated on the spot. After one more glance over at Lucius Malfoy's body, Snape Disapparated too.

When Draco ran inside the Great Hall, the Order was seated, dinner before them, but none of them ate. Many of the eyes that glanced up at Draco were puffy and red. They had been expecting his arrival, so it didn't surprise them. What did surprise them was that Snape and Nagini weren't with him.

"Nagini's dead," Draco panted immediately. "Granger destroyed that other Horcrux. My father's dead, too… Snape… He had to…" Draco suddenly became extremely tired as the weight of all that had recently happened finally caught up with him. He had betrayed Voldemort, his mother was dead, his father had just been killed right in front of him, he had destroyed a horcrux, and Snape had just taken off to help Granger.

"Draco, where's Snape?" Harry asked, making Draco jump and snap out of his weary daze.

"He went to meet Granger in the Glitch room," Draco said. "He said she might still make it back, so he has to make sure it's safe."

"My mum told us they think Hermione's dead," Harry said. "Hermione was supposed to keep in touch with the others in the past, to let them know she was okay. It's been hours since they heard from her…"

"She's dead?" Draco looked confused, like he just couldn't comprehend Hermione Granger being dead. Everyone was silent…

* * *

Hermione coughed, choking on what felt like a smooth, round rock in her throat. She tried to open her eyes, but she couldn't. She felt a hand slipping under her neck and lifting her head up, encouraging her to swallow. She did so, whimpering as the hard object moved down her throat. Her body was still throbbing with horrible pain, but the moment she swallowed, the pain decreased dramatically and she felt significantly more lucid. She still couldn't open her eyes, but she was suddenly aware of a familiar noise—a song. Someone was humming the same song that she had used to stop Bill's crying, the song she'd heard a woman's voice humming, when Snape and Dumbledore helped her make the Pensive Perfume. The voice she heard now was lower, male... Whoever it was, their voice was helping to ease her pain. Or was it the song that they were humming? Hermione tried to move, but it still hurt too much. When she whimpered again, someone's hand grabbed one of her bloody, aching hands.

"Don't try to move yet," a familiar voice said softly. "The bezoar you swallowed saved your life, but you're still in bad shape. What did you do to your hands? Hold still." Hermione felt a wand tip touch each of her sore hands and she could feel the broken skin mending. "That fixed the broken fingernails and some of the cuts on your hands," the crisp voice spoke again. Though she still couldn't open her eyes to see him, Hermione was able to identify the speaker.

"S-Severus?" Hermione whispered weakly, her dry lips cracking and bleeding again.

"Yes," the young Slytherin answered. "It's alright. The Dark Lord, Bellatrix, and Lucius are gone. I'm here to help you." Hermione was finally able to force her eyes open. She started to reach a hand toward her neck, but Snape grabbed it and held it still. "Don't move," he repeated. "Relax."

"The locket," Hermione whispered, "take it off me." Snape released her hand and did as she asked, taking Regulus' locket off her neck. "Put it in the bowl on the pedestal," Hermione whispered. Snape stood up and placed the locket where she indicated, the Slytherin robes he was still wearing finally coming clearly into Hermione's view. He jumped slightly when the bowl promptly refilled itself with the deathly potion. "Don't touch it," Hermione whispered. "Don't touch the water, either. It's inferi-infested."

"I won't do anything you don't tell me to do," Snape said to Hermione, coming to kneel beside her again.

"Regulus?" Hermione asked, though she already knew the answer.

"He's gone, Hermione," Snape said. "I'm sorry. I—"

"Did whatever you were meant to do," Hermione said softly, tears spilling across her face, mixing with dirt and blood.

"He told me where to find you," Snape said, "but not… What can I do? What do you need?"

"To go home," Hermione said. "I need to go home. Is my watch okay?" Snape gently grabbed her left hand, pushing up the sleeve of her robes to see the watch. The face of the watch was cracked, but it was still working.

"It's working," he said. Hermione tried to lift her arms, but winced in pain.

"I have to cross my arms in front of me," she said to Snape. He gently lifted both her arms off the ground and folded them across her chest. Snape blinked when the face of the watch instantly expanded and showed a large number twenty-one, followed by a small image of a room filled with pearly white light. "If you leave the cave, will you be able to Apparate back to Hogwarts, alright?" Hermione asked Snape, taking his attention back off the watch, "Even if you can't remember why you're out here?"

"What?" Snape asked. "Why—"

"The second I return to my time, everyone in this time will forget I was ever here," Hermione said. "Your mind will create false memories to compensate. I don't know what you'll end up thinking is the reason you're all the way out here, but—"

"I'll be fine," Snape said.

"You can't Disapparate in here," Hermione said. "You have to get out of this part of the cave. Get back in the boat and leave. Remember, don't touch the water. As soon as I can't see you anymore, I'll wait a minute longer before I go, to make sure you're out. Go now, Severus."

"I'll see you when you start your first year, Hermione Granger," Snape said.

"I'll see you then, Professor," Hermione laughed weakly. She blinked when the young Slytherin laughed too. A genuine, happy laugh was actually coming form the young Severus Snape. He had changed. "Go, Severus," Hermione repeated. Snape nodded and stood up. He walked over to the boat and climbed into it, careful to not touch the water, and he glided away across the glassy surface. Hermione watched him go, wincing as she twisted her neck around to keep him in view. As soon as she saw him climb out of the boat and disappear into darkness, she began counting out a minute in her head. When she got to zero, she took a deep breath and focused all her thoughts on that room in the Ministry.

"Fleur Weasley," Hermione spoke her activation phrase clearly. A flash of white light engulfed her and she was gone.

* * *

Snape had made his way into the Ministry fairly easily. It was well after closing. He was just pulling open the door to the Garus Glitch room when the pearly light flashed even brighter and he heard a familiar voice whimper in pain. Snape rushed forward before he could even clearly see the girl in tattered, bloody Gryffindor robes. Before he reached her, he stumbled and clutched his forehead. He recognized this searing headache for what it was. Moments later, the pain eased and he remembered the rest of what had happened in the past, as the Garus Glitch was completely broken. He could remember everything, as could everyone else in the present time. Hermione whimpered in pain again and Snape closed the distance between them. Snape knelt beside Hermione and immediately started humming the same song his past self had been humming to her. Hermione immediately felt more relaxed again, and the remaining aches and pains in her body eased still more.

"That song…" Hermione whispered, blinking wearily up at the much older version of the Slytherin boy she'd just left.

"It's a mystical song," Snape said gently. "It's very old magic. Mystical songs have healing properties—hearing the tune, even if not the words of the song, helps ease pain and anxiety. Humming the tune or singing the song yourself helps even more."

"The woman's voice I heard?" Hermione whispered, "In that memory?"

"Was my mother's voice," Snape said. "She actually knew the words of the song, but I could never remember them. She once told me that the lyrics weren't something you could hear and learn, but something that some witches and wizards just come to know intuitively after hearing the tune a few times. My mother would always sing the song when my father would hurt her. She would come up to my bedroom, lock the door, and sing the song to me. Sometimes she would stay in my room with me for hours, singing the same song over and over to help the two of us get through it…"

"That explains why it stopped Bill's crying," Hermione laughed wearily.

"I assume that is something Molly will have just remembered," Snape said. Hermione nodded, then she began humming the mystical song herself. Snape resumed humming the tune too, and he slowly helped Hermione to her feet. She winced again, but she stood steadily, at least for a minute.

"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" Rodolphus growled, standing in the doorway of the room. "Bellatrix thought you were acting strangely when you sent her back to the hideout, but this?! _You're the traitor_! You—"

"Avada Kedavra!" A flash of bright green light erupted from Snape's wand and engulfed Rodolphus.

"Let's go!" Snape said, grabbing Hermione's hand and pulling her forward, around Rodolphus' body. The two of them ran as fast as Hermione could manage. The moment they made it outside the Ministry, Hermione latched onto Snape's arm as tightly she could, so he could Disapparate and take her with him sidelong. Snape spun on the spot and pulled her into the whirlwind of Apparation. A second later, they were outside the front gates of Hogwarts.

Hermione looked up at the castle and froze. A tear rolled slowly down her cheek as the fact that she was back in her real time finally had the chance to sink in. "A lot has changed in twenty-one years," Snape said gently. Hermione sniffed and a few more tears escaped her eyes. She nodded mutely. After taking a steadying breath, she mentioned what was still weighing very heavily on her mind.

"Regulus didn't need to get involved," she said. "I didn't realize it until it was too late, but I didn't really need his help…"

"I did," Snape said. Hermione blinked up at him. Snape nodded up toward the castle, and they both started walking across the school grounds as he continued. "I only realized it after the Glitch was completely broken, only minutes ago. He was a large part of the reason I came to the Order's side, as were you, of course. Once Regulus and I were left alone outside that forest, I used Legilimency to see all that had passed between you two, and I heard all that you had told him about the future. When you vanished and the Glitch modified my memory, I remembered using Legilimency on Regulus as he died, but I saw different, false memories—I told the Dark Lord he was merely defecting, but I hid how inspiring I found his defiance. All that it took for me to change my position in the war was some understanding of just how much good I could do, how much I could change."

"If that's the case, couldn't the same result have been achieved if I had just told _you_ all that I told Regulus?" Hermione asked, "Or, better yet, if you had used Legilimency on _me_ and seen my actual memories from the future instead of just hearing me explain it all to Regulus in his memories? Wouldn't you have drawn the same, if not stronger conclusions? Was Regulus _really_ needed?"

"Yes," Snape said, a barely noticeable smile coming to his lips as his conversation with Hermione almost made him feel like they were in a classroom again, with her hand up in the air as usual. "While seeing your memories might have also been helpful, seeing what you've done would not have impacted me as intensely as seeing what Regulus had done," Snape continued. Hermione still looked a little confused. Snape raised his left arm slightly, turning the inside of his forearm toward her. If his robes weren't covering his arm, he would've just shown her his Dark Mark. "Brave and inspirational as all your efforts in the past were, Regulus was a fellow Death Eater," Snape said. "He was proof of all the good that one of us could do, because of all he did to help you, including telling me where to find you. While Regulus' help _wasn't_ necessary to destroy the Horcrux, it _was_ necessary to save us both." Hermione nodded understandingly as she and Snape finally reached the castle's main entrance. She paused at the doors.

"Thank you for everything you've done, Sev—I mean, Professor," Hermione said sincerely. "Thank you for saving me."

"Use my first name if you wish, Hermione," Snape said. "And thank _you_ for saving _me_." Hermione thought for a moment of hugging Snape, as a few more tears came to her eyes, but she extended her right hand to him instead. Her hand was still covered with dried blood, so Snape took it gently. Snape and Hermione shook hands and, in one moment, said all they needed to say to each other. They finally understood each other. As soon as he released Hermione's hand, Snape drew his wand and tapped the doors in a deliberate pattern until the distinct sound of the final lock on the door opening could be heard. Snape pushed open the doors and he and Hermione were both greeted by deafening cries of joy, relief, and triumph.

Snape stepped between Hermione and the Order members to make sure her ecstatic friends didn't overwhelm her, or even worse, accidentally hurt her since she was still in need of a proper healing. Everyone eventually took their turn to gently hug her and welcome her back. Harry, Ron, Mrs. Weasley, and Remus were the last four people she reached.

"Hermione, I'm so sorry," Mrs. Weasley sobbed, hugging Hermione a little too tightly, though Hermione didn't seem to mind the pain as much. "I said such terrible things to you, and I might've never seen you again! I'm so sorry!"

"You thought I was a spy for the Death Eaters, Molly," Hermione said. "I would've reacted worse than you did!" Mrs. Weasley blinked and pulled away from Hermione, giving her an odd look. Hermione quickly realized what was wrong. "Oh! Is it okay that I call you Molly now?" Mrs. Weasley gave Hermione a watery smile.

"Yes, of course, Hermione," she laughed, giving Hermione one more brief hug. She stepped aside for Remus. He hugged Hermione a little more timidly, though just as warmly. Hermione hugged him back, ignoring the sting of cuts reopening. Neither one of them said anything. Words that could express how they each felt about all that had passed between the two of them did not exist. When the two of them broke apart and Hermione finally faced Harry and Ron, the lack of glass between them made her burst into tears. She leapt toward both of them and collided with Harry first.

"You did it, Hermione!" Harry spoke over Hermione's sobs, holding her snugly in his arms.

" _We_ did it," Hermione spoke into Harry's shoulder. "I never could've made it through all that without having you two to talk to. I missed you so much…" Hermione sniffed and slowly pulled away from Harry. She turned to face Ron and her heart skipped a beat.

Hermione had never seen Ron look at her quite like he was looking at her in that moment. Her hair was a dirty mess, she was covered in blood, mud, and even some broken shards of glass clung to her tattered robes, but Ron could've been staring at a veela. He pulled her into a tight hug and she looked at her own skin, to make sure she wasn't literally glowing with happiness. When Ron finally spoke, her breath caught in her chest.

"We thought we'd lost you, Hermione," he said softly. "Lily told us she thought you were dead…"

"You could never really lose me, Ron," Hermione said. "I love you." Hermione blinked, surprised by her own words. They had just fallen out, but she had really meant them. She cried harder than ever, even as she began laughing giddily. She loved him! She loved Ron! How she had taken so long to realize it, she couldn't understand, but she didn't care.

"I love you, Hermione," Ron said. "I have for ages."

Ron loved her. Hermione finally heard it from his own mouth, and all she wanted was for the war to be over, so she could be with him in peace. She blinked as she remembered that they weren't even alone in that moment. Hermione and Ron both looked up and saw the entire Order beaming at them. Harry and all the other Weasley's, in particular, looked like they were about to burst with joy. If only it could last as long as they all wished it could...

"Hermione, you're bleeding again," Snape said, gesturing to the cuts on her hands that had torn open again. No one in the room even blinked at Snape's use of Hermione's first name.

"Oh dear, what _did_ happen to you, Hermione?" Mrs. Weasley fussed, coming toward Hermione again and gently taking her hands to inspect them more carefully.

"You don't want to know, unless you absolutely have to, Molly," Snape said. "Between the past and present, I used a bezoar and a mystic song to keep her alive and able to stand, but she still needs much more, proper treatment."

"Then you should go tell Madam Pomfrey what you know of Hermione's condition, Severus," Dumbledore said. "After Draco arrived, I sent an owl to her, expecting we would need her help. She was all too glad to come help us. Draco should still be up there with her. He'll be happy to see you." Snape nodded and sped upstairs, heading for the Hospital Wing.

"Draco's here?" Hermione asked, looking inquiringly at Harry and Ron.

"Long story," Harry said.

"Tell me while we walk up to the Hospital Wing," Hermione said. "It will take a while. I'm so tired…"

"Just a little longer, Hermione," Ron said, gently taking one of Hermione's hands and beginning to help her up the Entrance Hall stairs. "We can stop Voldemort for good now. It'll all be over soon…"

Dumbledore's eyes glistened as he watched Harry, Hermione, and Ron climb the stairs and disappear around a corner, at the top. "It will all be over soon," he echoed.


	24. Time for Change

Time is a funny thing. It is measured, consistent, constant, but when speaking of the passage of time, you will rarely hear anyone describing it as such. Time flies. Time stands still. Time drags on and then passes quickly. Hermione felt as though she'd been stuck in the past for years, not months. Harry and Ron insisted she'd been gone forever, time seeming unbearably slow in her absence. Their past memories of Hermione restored, Remus, Molly, and Severus struggled the most. There Hermione was, looking exactly as she had back then, making them feel young and hopeful again, but their older bodies ached and their reflections mocked them. Time was cruel, and time was fleeting.

"PROTEGO!" Remus bellowed, shielding Hermione from a curse aimed at her back. Hermione was still weak. Death Eaters had descended on Hogwarts just a few hours after her return. She hadn't fully recovered from her ordeal in the cave; some of her old wounds had already reopened. The cavalry arrived just in time.

"Stupefy!" Neville Longbottom led several other DA members into the Entrance Hall. His stunner struck the Death Eater attacking Ron, and the two of them turned to help Ginny.

"Avada Kedavra!" Even old Augusta Longbottom had come to fight, and she pulled no punches. The Death Eater Hermione had been dueling dropped dead. "I remember you, girl," she told Hermione as she hobbled over. "My son told me about you, years ago. Plucky little thing, you look half-dead and here you are still fighting. Go help your friends. No one will follow you."

Harry was crouched behind a pile of debris. His scar wasn't hurting at all. Voldemort hadn't come. Voldemort was mortal again, and he wasn't coming to them. Harry looked at his best friends. Ron was sweating and out of breath. Hermione was still ill and injured. Their odds of defeating Voldemort alone were slim to none, but it was the only way to bring the madness around them to an end.

"Let me guess," Draco Malfoy said, making his way over to them, his lip bleeding, "the Gryffindors are about to do something really stupid." Ignoring the insult, Harry looked the newly orphaned pureblood dead in the eye.

"Are you coming or staying?"

Draco brought the three Gryffindors to the remaining hideout via sidelong apparation. He died the moment his feet touched the ground. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had no tome to react. They dove in different directions, ducking and rolling, scrambling for cover. The flash of green light had faded, and they could see little in the pitch dark, a couple hours before dawn. The three friends were of one mind, all three wondering why they came alone. The answer came to them just as quickly: The main attack force was at Hogwarts. Back there, their friends and allies needed all the help they could get. The three of them were up against one mortal man. Voldemort was immensely powerful, but he was one mortal man, and there were three of them... three of them left.

"So, how do you want to do this?" Ron called out. Harry and Hermione gaped at him, Hermione frantically gesturing for him to stay quiet. "You killed Malfoy first because he betrayed you," Ron continued. "That makes sense, but what now?" Ron waved Harry and Hermione away, encouraging them to move while he attempted to distract Voldemort. His voice would mask the sound of their movements. "Want to go for Harry next? The chosen one has always been your first target, but what about Hermione? Technically, she betrayed you too. A muggleborn girl tricked you, humiliated you in front of your Death Eaters. Of course, Harry's done that too. Still, I wouldn't blame you for coming after me next. A talent for annoying people runs in the Weasley family." While Ron talked, Harry and Hermione crept through the darkness, moving in opposite directions, hoping to target Voldemort from opposite sides. Voldemort ran out of patience first.

The moment fire erupted from Voldemort's wand, rushing toward Ron, Hermione and Harry stood and aimed their wands at him. Voldemort simply deflected Harry's stunner. He dropped to the ground to avoid Hermione's killing curse. Surging upward again, Voldemort chose his next target. "Avada Kedavra!" Hermione had expected him to target her next, so she narrowly avoided the curse, diving behind rocks that exploded around her when the curse made impact. Easily deflecting the next spells Harry and Ron threw at him, Voldemort stalked toward Hermione.

"Hermione, move!" Harry shouted, running toward Voldemort.

Unknown to Harry, Hermione was immediately lost to a vivid flashback. She could see the troll again, the bathroom, the levitating club. As she became aware of her surroundings again, she tried to crawl away, but she couldn't move. Some of the rock shards had imbedded themselves in the healing flesh still raw from the cave, from the past. Pain overwhelmed her and she was too exhausted to push through it. With a flick of his wand, Voldemort lifted her off the ground and threw her into a rose bush forty yards away. She screamed as the thorns tore at her skin.

"Avada Kedavra!" Ron took his shot, but he tripped as he took aim and his curse went over Voldemort's head.

"Avada—" Harry took aim, but Voldemort had lifted Hermione's body from the rose bush and he swung her around, suspending her body in the air between him and the two younger wizards.

"Children," Voldemort hissed. "Three children came closer than anyone else, but not close enough. It was all for nothing, because you are still too young, too weak, too innocent to the ways of the world to make sacrifices when necessary. Kill her. Kill her and take down your enemy! Do it!" Harry and Ron both raised their wands, but they hesitated. Voldemort smiled. "Avada—"

"Confundus!"

"Reducto!"

Harry's spell reached Voldemort, breaking his concentration for a second, releasing Hermione from his hold. Ron's spell struck Hermione. He flinched when she yelped in pain, but his spell knocked her backward so she fell behind Voldemort.

"Inficiunt Aerem!" Voldemort's spell had no visible effect, but when Harry and Ron drew breath to cast their next curses, they gasped and collapsed, choking. Voldemort smiled, watching the boys gasp for air, their skin paling, their lips turning blue. He would enjoy watching them die slowly.

Forgotten behind Voldemort, Hermione was holding her breath. Voldemort's invisible but deadly curse had clearly poisoned the air. She couldn't find her wand, but it wouldn't be of much use if she couldn't speak. She felt around for a shard of rock sharp enough to cut him. Instead of rock, her fingers found the cool steel of a sword. Out of air and out of time, Hermione stood and plunged the sword of Gryffindor into the heir of Slytherin, the blade entering his back and sliding all the way through, the bloody tip sticking out of his gut. Releasing the sword and rushing forward, she fell to her knees between Harry and Ron. She grabbed their wands and wordlessly summoned her own, then she took their hands and apparated. They landed outside St Mungos.

"Help!" Hermione screamed. "They've been poisoned! Please!" Hermione hadn't noticed, but they'd all three splinched. Ron was missing a finger, a chunk of flesh was missing from Harry's arm, and her own finger was lost with Ron's. The pain blended together. There was blood everywhere, and Harry and Ron seemed to be drawing their last breaths. Healers poured out of the magical hospital, but Hermione wouldn't remember a word they said. They reached her just in time to catch her as she fell, the world around her lost to darkness.

Time flies. Time stands still. Time is cruel. Time is fleeting.

"It's alright, sweetheart. It's over. You've been so brave." Harry saw his mother and father again, the way he'd seen them in the Mirror of Erised, but his mother's voice was particularly strong and clear, because with Hermione's help he had actually spoken to Lily Evans many times.

"Ron, you and your friends _are_ bloody dragons! That was incredible!" Charlie reconnected with his little brother, beaming at the younger boy. "You've done it, Ron! You've done it!"

"Hermione, we were so worried," Hermione was sure she heard her parents, though they were still very much alive.

"Get up, Granger. Mother and I died for you and Potter. Don't you give up now." Draco Malfoy. That was a surprise.

"Hermione, listen to him. You stabbed the Dark Lord with a sword. You can get through this." Narcissa Black.

"Hermione, no! Please wake up! For me. For Harry." Lily Evans visited her as well.

"I'm sure my patronus will change again," Remus confessed. Past or present Remus, Hermione wasn't sure. When she tried to look at him, she saw both at once. "It will represent you, of course. You were a great friend to me, and now you are the only one left. You can't leave me, Hermione. Not now."

"Not yet, Hermione." That was all Regulus said. "Not yet."

Harry groaned as he awoke, searching for his glasses. Someone in a chair beside him handed his glasses to him. Dumbledore. "Well done, Harry. I always knew you would persevere. All the Death Eaters are dead or in Azkaban, awaiting trial. Hogwarts is safe. Voldemort is dead. It's over, my boy. Finally, you can rest."

"Malfoy..." Harry began, but words failed him.

"Their story will live forever as well," Dumbledore assured him. "The widely respected pureblood blinded by hatred, the wife and mother who chose her son over her husband, and the boy who tragically fell so soon after seeing the light, after seeing what could have been. A cautionary tale, indeed."

"Harry!" Ginny ran to his side, followed closely by her father and most of her siblings. Harry looked over at Ron, still asleep in the next bed. His mother occupied the chair beside him. Molly Weasley smiled at him before returning her attention to her son. Beyond her, Hermione was in another bed, Remus seated at her side. It looked like he was whispering to her. He had new scars of his own, one long red line stretching from his right ear to the bridge of his nose. Snape was barely visible, standing just outside the door, his eyes on the girl and the werewolf.

"Please," Remus whispered, almost inaudibly. He spoke not to Hermione, but to any higher power or magical being listening. "Please, not her. Don't take her too. Not her... please..."

"Not her. Not our girl," Sirius said, pacing, thinking... "C'mon, Hermione, Moony needs you. You're the last two standing. We thought of you as a fellow Marauder, you know. We wanted to help you become an animagus and make it official. We all loved Lily, but she wasn't a fit for it. You, however—a little demon disguised as an angel, you came and raised hell. I wonder what animal you would have become. As the wand chooses the wizard, so does the animal. A wolf? Moony would be horrified and delighted. A fox? Cunning little thing. A cat? Independent and self-aware. No," Sirius laughed. "No, I've got it now: You're a dolphin. You wouldn't have been able to run with us, but you would go where none of us could. Your thirst for knowledge is the key. You'd want to explore the unknown. Moony, Marina, Padfoot, and Prongs. I like the sound of that. Wake up, Marina. You have oceans to discover."

"C'mon, Hermione, wake up," Ron said, seated by her bed. His fingers were intwined with hers. He'd lost the little finger on his left hand. She'd lost the little finger on her right hand. Even in injury, they were complementary. Out of all the voices in her head, his broke through. Hermione stirred and her eyes slowly opened. Ron sobbed softly and stood, bending over her bed to hug her awkwardly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you. You saved us, Hermione. We're okay, you're okay. It's over. Harry! Remus! Mum, she's awake!"

Time was precious. Harry, Ron, and Hermione would never get back all the time taken from them, the time lost to war, but it was finally their time. They could do whatever they wanted with their time. For the first time in a long time, the future was clear and the past made sense.

"Harry, your scar," Hermione breathed as Harry reached her. Harry smiled, brushing his hair to the side. The lighting bolt was still there, but it blended in with Harry's skin, barely visible.

"It never fully healed," he said. "It was like it was infected as long as he lived. It's really over this time." Hermione's eyes welled up with tears, and when the first tear fell, Ron and Harry teared up too, and then they laughed through their tears. It was really over.

The war was over.

The flashbacks that had overtaken Hermione in the battle against Voldemort proved to be symptoms of a larger problem. Garus had lost all concept of time after too many experiments, but Hermione was stable enough. For the rest of her days, she would experience random flashbacks, and she would wake confused each morning, unsure of her place in time until provided with a reminder. When diagnosed with Time Traveler's Divergence, Hermione smiled and said, "It could be much worse."

For several months after Hermione's return, Snape regularly checked in on her, providing potions that could help her though the confusing, stressful mornings. If only life were so simple. Though Snape felt a strong connection to Hermione immediately after her return, his memories of all the years that followed inevitably caught up with him. He and Hermione had saved each other, but they had never been friends, and forcing such a relationship in the future simply didn't work for them. Snape became distant and closed off again, and Hermione knew to let him be.

Remus struggled as well. He loved Tonks. He bought a ring. He planned to propose. He planned to marry her and maybe even start a family... but there were nights he dreamt of standing in the snow with Hermione. In those dreams, things went differently. He dreamt of her, then he woke up and looked at himself in the mirror. Tonks was young, but Hermione had not yet aged—she was the exact same girl she was in his dreams, in his memories. He tried to shake his lingering feelings for her. He was sure Tonks suspected, and she deserved better than that.

Molly kept a close eye on her youngest son and his girlfriend. Molly saw the looks Remus gave Hermione at times, and the way she would look back at him. She wanted to be angry with the girl, but she sympathized with her situation. It had to be confusing, getting mixed up in different timelines, feeling so connected to so many people. Molly knew Hermione loved her son, just as she knew Ron loved Hermione. She could only hope things would get easier for them in time.

Hermione ran into Neville one day at St Mungos. She was in for a follow-up and he was visiting his parents. He invited Hermione along and she felt she needed to join him. She knew Frank and Alice. She wanted to offer her support. She hadn't expected Alice to mutter her name, blinking at her in vague recognition. Hermione and Neville froze by her bedside. She couldn't remember her son, but she recognized Hermione. Neville forced a smile when Hermione caught his eye. Hermione felt ill. She knew that look well. Snape, Remus, Molly, Tonks, Harry, Ron... it was the look they all gave her when her presence reminded them of something they wanted to forget. Time did not discriminate. Everyone was hurt, somehow. She had gone a week without speaking to Harry after she accidentally called him, "James."

Ron saw how Hermione acted around Remus, and he around her, but he didn't see Remus as a threat. He wasn't the least bit jealous of their bond. He loved Hermione, and he knew Hermione loved him. In the light of day, their problems seemed insignificant. After all they'd survived, they were finally living in peace. He was happy... during the day... most days... but the nights... the nights... Hermione often had nightmares, like many other survivors, but hers revolved around the same person. Each night that he spent with her, he'd hear the same name, and he'd spend a few nights away from her to shake it off. Remus was no threat—they had a little crush, and in time they'd get over it—but there was another name on Hermione's heart, and there was no competing with a dead man.

Each night, Hermione wept for Regulus Black.

**End**


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